My Vampire Family
by Jyuoa
Summary: When Cora arrives in Mystic Falls to help her friend with his Ripper problem, she finds herself teaming up with the rest of the group. She is determined not to give up on the Salvatores, due to the past that connects the three of them. But will their bond and her new friendships survive the twists and turns of Mystic Falls? One-sided J/OC, Delena, Stelena, Beremy and OC/OC.
1. Return of a Friend Part 1

At the Boarding House, Damon was tending to Elena. She had been having a really rough night and he couldn't help but feel responsible. He poured her a glass of scotch. "Here, it'll help you forget." While he was out, Klaus had ambushed the group at school and compelled his brother to turn off his emotions.

She took the glass, though still seemed upset. "Yeah, it's strong. You know I can help you forget, too. At least the memories you don't want to keep."

"No. No compulsion. I need to remember. All of it." Elena told him. He knew she was trying to be strong again. He fished her necklace out of his pocket.

"I stole it back for you."

"He's really gone this time." She said, sounding close to tears. "I watched it happen. After everything that we went through to get... to help him. Now he's just... Gone." She looked at him "Where were you, Damon?"

"I shouldn't have left. I promise you... I will never leave you again." He told her. She gave him a faint smile, though she still seemed upset. Just then, there was a knock on the door. They looked at each other.

"Brother, is that you?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't already be inside by now." He heard his brother call from upstairs.

Damon got up to answer the door. When he did, he saw a young woman. She was slightly shorter than him, about Elena's height, he supposed. She had short, red hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. She was wearing denim jacket and skirt, despite it being cold out, as well as a green shirt underneath.

"Can I…can I help you?" He asked her.

"It's been a long time, Damon." The girl said, smiling.

"Do I know you?" He asked. The girl twisted a chain under her clothes.

"You don't remember me, do you? I'm almost insulted, considering everything I did to help you two in Europe over a century ago." As she spoke, Damon noticed that the chain she was holding had a unique charm on it: a small glass case with a few stems of vervain inside.

There was only one other person he knew of that carried a vervain charm. "Cora?" He asked. She smiled.

"Took you long enough." She wrapped her arms around him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, almost relieved to see a friendly face for once. "Wait a minute, how are you here? When you left, you were human."

"It's a long story, Damon." Cora said.

"Why don't you come inside?" He asked her. She hesitated. "It's okay, you're safe here."

They entered the living room. "Damon, are you…" She paused when she noticed Cora. The girls looked at each other for a few minutes.

"Cora, this is Elena."

"Where've I heard that name before?" Cora wondered. "Wait, are you Stefan's girlfriend?" Elena looked at her surprised.

"Uh…yeah. Well, sort of. I think we're kind of broken up, but…I'm sorry, who are you?" She asked, flustered by everything.

"She's an old friend of ours."

"I'm Cora."

"So by friend, do you mean…" Elena began to ask. The two looked at each other and started laughing.

"Me? And Damon? You have to be kidding!" Cora said. "No, many years ago in London, they both helped me through a rough time. One of the bad ones had kidnapped my sister, so we decided to stick together. As we fought him, we sort of became family. When it was all over, I headed to Mystic Falls to start a new life."

"Wow, makes the evil we've fought here seem like it happened almost a decade ago." Elena said.

"Yeah, only when we parted ways, Cora was still human." Damon told her. "So what happened?"

"Well, it happened years ago." Cora said.

"I can see that, you look a little older since the last time we met." Damon said.

"That's because I was turned about five after meeting you two." Cora told him. "Um…"

"It's okay. I know everything." Elena told her. "I know all about vampires, witches, and other supernatural beings."

"Okay. Then I'll tell you both." Cora said. "After defeating our old enemy in London, I headed to Mystic Falls, like you guys suggested. The Bennett family took me in. I became pretty close with this girl, Leslie. She happened to be a witch, though she practiced rarely because some of her ancestors burned."

"So, what happened?"

"She was my only friend when it happened." Cora told them. "As for how I turned, I met someone a few years after I'd settled in. I had actually gotten married in the short time I was there and I helped look after Leslie's kids. One day we were tending to the garden…"She paused as she remembered what happened.

She and Leslie were outside with the kids, planting flowers and herbs for the garden, when she noticed him. "Who is that?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, but he isn't welcome here." Leslie said. "I've noticed him hanging around the past few weeks, but he doesn't really belong here."

"Neither did I when I first arrived." Cora pointed out. "Want me to talk to him?"

"Be careful, child." Leslie said. Cora walked over to him.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just admiring the garden."

"Well, you should probably go somewhere else. You're scaring the family members."

"I'll leave now."

"Even though I knew there was a risk, part of me was drawn to him." Cora admitted to the others. "Not that I didn't like my husband, but he'd passed after I'd known him for a couple years. I started taking walks with the new guy. One day, he asked if I wanted to be with him forever. Being the still-human dreamer that I was, I didn't think he meant _forever_ forever."

"That's the oldest trick in the book." Damon told her.

"I know, but in my defense, I had no idea that my would-be love interest was a vampire." Cora said. "Fortunately, Leslie was able eliminate him, but not before he'd killed me first."

"Hey, I've been there before." Damon said. "I know what it feels like when the person you think you had feelings for changes you." Cora held him close.

"Yeah, well, given the recent news, I'd say none of us are good with love right now." Cora said. Elena moved slightly closer and embraced both of them. "You might not want to get so close. You're wound's still open."

"Right. Sorry." Elena moved back a little. "So how'd you get through the transition?"

"It's kind of hard to relive, but I'll tell you anyway."


	2. Return of a Friend Part 2

In the past, Leslie had set Cora down on her bed. She was still asleep. The second she stepped outside however, she heard a gasp from behind the door. She quickly entered it. Cora was awake, and seemed to be confused. "Cora?"

"Leslie. Something's wrong with me."

"What is it?"

"Don't get too close." Cora told her. "I can hear your heartbeat from way over here. How's it possible?"

"Oh, dear." Leslie said. "Don't worry, I think I can help you." And then she left the room.

"So, that Bennett witch still stayed your friend even after you transitioned?" Damon asked, pulling her back to the present.

"Yes." Cora told him. "And she became my only friend once it happened. I had to be careful around the rest of the family. She was the only one who knew my secret, and she kept it the rest of her life. Even the kids didn't know."

"Did she also make that daylight ring you're wearing?" Elena asked, glancing at her hand. There was an opal-shaped blue stone in the center.

"Yeah, she did." Cora said. "She remembered how Emily used to make them and figured out how to make it possible for me to go into the sun again."

"How did you manage to stay in control?" Damon asked her. "Even I struggled with it slightly for the first couple months."

"Well, Leslie and some of the others knew of another vampire in town." Cora said. "Apparently she stopped by their place every now and then."

"Don't tell me she was blonde."

"How did you know?" Cora asked, completely shocked.

"Wait, you knew Lexi?" Elena asked her.

"We were best friends after I turned." Cora explained. "She taught me how to survive off animals until blood bags were invented, and we spent a good few years traveling together."

"I'm surprised you didn't show up with a whole entourage of friends." Damon told her.

"Well, since meeting Lexi, I've only had a few close friends, including her boyfriend, another friend of hers that I've lost track of, and a couple of vampires that appeared to be on the run. Though the girl and I became kind of close before she just disappeared on us." She explained to them.

"What girl?" Damon asked, having a bad feeling.

"She was kind of tall, a little jumpy, but she had a good heart." Cora said. "We tried to set her up on a date once, but she declined."

Elena remembered something then. "Did she have short, brown hair and green eyes?"

"I don't remember her physical features or her name, but I do remember she was beautiful." Cora said. "Sometimes I wonder if she's still around."

"Oh, I doubt it." Damon said. "If it's the same girl I'm thinking of, she got bitten by a werewolf."

"I've heard about them. Their bite's deadly to vampires, right?" Cora asked. They nodded. "I also heard from an anonymous source that hybrid's blood is the only way to cure it."

"Sounds like my doppelganger's been busy." Elena said.

"Anyway, talking about my friends then isn't going to help two of my oldest ones now." Cora said.

"Speaking of which, how'd you even find out about us?" Damon asked. "Your anonymous source?"

"Actually, I was waiting for you to ask." Cora told him. "How I got the information, I'm not too happy about though."

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, you'll find out about how Cora learned about Stefan's current condition in the next chapter. **


	3. Return of a Friend Part 3

Flashback: Chicago, a few days ago. Cora had finished speaking with a friend and had waved her off, when she caught site of a woman in the phone booth. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but then she heard Stefan's name. She walked slightly closer, using her hearing to listen in. "Let me guess…it ended in tears and heartbreak."

"Where are you?" She heard a voice on the other end of the line say. He sounded vaguely familiar.

"Why? Do you want to come rub sunscreen on my back?" The girl asked.

"I'm thinking Europe. Italy, maybe Or Spain. You were always a sucker for those lazy afternoons."

"Keep guessing, Damon. Bye-bye." The girl said. She hung up and walked out of the phone booth.

"Excuse me." Cora walked over to her. "I couldn't help but overhear. You know Stefan, as in Stefan Salvatore?"

"Sort of." The girl said. "I'm trying to help him, though he probably still sees me as the evil vamp who turned him." To Cora, that story sounded familiar.

"Katherine?" She asked.

"Not so loud. I have enemies in this town, if they find out I'm here…" The girl told her.

"I get it." Cora said.

"Well you obviously know me, but how do you know them?" Katherine asked. Cora looked at her.

"You told her that you were our sister?" Damon asked. Elena had been leaning against him, trying not to fall asleep. She seemed wide awake now, looking just as surprised as Damon.

"Did I really have another choice?" Cora pointed out. "I didn't want her thinking that there was anything between the three of us, and she obviously knew that I knew you two. Besides, on my part, at least it wasn't a total lie."

"You really care about them like siblings, don't you?" Elena asked.

"That's right. That's why it's not a complete lie." Cora said. "How do you know…"

"Because I feel the same way around my best friends and Matt." Elena told her. "And I have a brother."

"Hate to break up the girl bonding, but why were you in Chicago in the first place?"

"I went to support some of my friends. They had gotten a part in some musical at the theater." Cora explained. "Anyway, they had just left town while I decided to explore, and that's when I ran into Katherine. She explained everything to me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that Stefan was paying a debt to an Original vampire." Cora told them. "And that she wanted to help get him out of it. Of course, I was in, only it wasn't until tonight I learned how bad it was."

"But how'd you know where…" Damon asked.

"I followed Katherine to Mystic Falls." Cora said. "I watched from a distance and spent a couple days at a hotel. I just wish I could've intervened tonight."

"Hey, you couldn't have known things would turn out the way they did." Elena said. "I tried to help, but it wasn't enough."

"I'm sure you did your best, Elena." Cora said. "I want to help. I know it's dangerous, and that Originals can compel vampires, that's why I still have this charm." She held it up to them. "Though I can see why he put it in this case now. Even if I'm not directly touching it, it makes my skin breakout."

"Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Damon asked, concerned. "It could be dangerous."

"You both helped me before, even tried to give me the chance to start over." Cora said. "I'd do anything to help my friends and family. I know it'll be hard, but if it means we get the real Stefan back, I'm in."

"We could use the extra help." Elena said. "After everything that's happened tonight, we could use more people on our side right now. And you seem to know a lot about this."

"I've always been good at observing." Cora told her. "And someone has to keep them from fighting, or worse, killing each other. Especially with Stefan's humanity off."

"I really hope you know what you're getting into here." Damon said to her.

"I know exactly what I'm getting into, besides, I know how to handle myself." Cora pointed out. "After all, I'm like you guys now and I know a lot about self-defense."

"It's good to have you on the team, then." Elena said, smiling slightly.

"There's a guest room upstairs if you need somewhere to stay." He told Cora as she left the room.

"Wow." Elena said. "She seems nice."

"She's a lot like you: compassionate, quick-thinking, and very smart." Damon told her. "You should probably get home soon." Elena nodded, though she still seemed only half-awake. Tomorrow, things would be different, though. She knew everything was about to change.


	4. Meeting the Team

The next day, Cora was headed downstairs when she passed by some blonde girl. "Oh, I see they have help. Mind helping me with my bags?" She asked her.

Cora was surprised and had no idea what she was talking about. "Um, I'm sorry, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My brother left me here and I'm assuming you're the help."

"Wrong, I'm not the help. I'm Cora." She told her coldly. "Cora Salvatore."

"I didn't know they had a sister."

"Well, it's kind of a long story and not many people know about me." Cora told her. "And you are?"

"Rebekah. I believe you've heard of my brother, he has yours protecting some doppelganger bitch." Cora was surprised.

"Hey, is everything okay up here?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I was just leaving." Cora said. "Damon, can we talk?"

"I think I know a good place."

He led Cora to the outdoor patio behind the house. Even though it was autumn, several of the plants were still in bloom. "Wow, this place is beautiful."

"I thought you'd like it out here."

"It reminds me of the gardens back in Ireland." Cora said. "So, what's our Original visitor doing here?"

"Apparently she's moving in because Klaus left her here." Damon said. "I don't know much about her, but you might not want to get on her bad side. Originals are much stronger than normal vampires. Promise me you'll never take this vervain charm off."

"I won't." Cora said. "After all, it has a lot of value to me." She remembered how Stefan had found it when it'd fallen off her and gave it back to her. "So, what's our strategy?"

"For now, we do our best to help Elena." Damon said. "Speaking of which, she should know about this." He headed into the house. Cora stayed outside to admire the view a little longer, before going back inside and joining him.

When she did, he was already on the phone with Elena. "You might not want to come here for a while. We have a new housemate. Barbie Klaus."

"Rebekah? She's living with you now?" Cora heard Elena say over the phone. "Why?"

"She's stranded. Apparently Klaus left her in the dust after I name-dropped Mikael." Damon said.

"What about Stefan? What is he up to?"

"Oh, you know. Journaling, reading, shaping his hair."

"Come on, Damon. I can handle it." Elena said.

"To be honest, even I'm not sure what he's up to." Cora said. "But I know the one we have to look out for is Rebekah. Seems like she could be trouble."

"That would be an understatement." Elena said. "See you later." She hung up.

A few hours later, Cora followed Damon to the gym. "Any reason why you decided to drag me along?" She asked.

"Would you rather be dueling it out with that Original girl back home?" He pointed out. "Besides, I figured you'd be better at the girl talk thing."

Once they got inside, they found Elena lifting weights. "What? Are you going to bench press a vampire?" Damon asked her.

"Do you actually know what's happening right now? Stefan called me a human blood bag. He's a completely different person." Elena told them.

"I should've guessed. We spent two hours cleaning the living room." Cora said. Damon pressed on the weight.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked him.

"Helping you out."

"Damon!"

"Come on, Buffy!"

"Enough, she's human. Do you want to break her spine?" Cora asked him. He let go so she could get up.

"Like one obnoxious Salvatore isn't bad enough." Elena said once she finally got into a sitting position.

"Trust me, you'd be surprised how often they fought more than they worked together." Cora told her, sitting next to her.

"You called. I'm here. What's your plan, oh warrior princess?"

"I want to lock Stefan up, at least until this Mikael guy comes, kills Klaus, and the compulsion breaks." Cora and Damon looked at each other.

"Compulsion or not, Stefan's high on human blood. A lot of it." Damon said.

"You've gotten him off of it before." Elena pointed out.

"This is different. It's not a stint in rehab, Elena. His humanity's gone. Light's out. No one's home."

"Then do it for me, Damon. Every single time I look at him, I feel like I'm going to break." Elena said. "And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction." She got up.

"Hey, you know we're here for you." Cora said. "We've got you're back. Here," She handed her a piece of paper. Elena looked and saw there was a phone number. "If you ever want to talk about it, you can call me."

"Thanks, Cora."

"I'll be out in the hallway if you need me." Cora said, heading out of the room. A few minutes later, they came out.

"If we're going to lock him up, we're going to need help." Elena was saying.

"Okay, but how do we know this is going to work?"

"I don't, but we need to do something about this." Elena said.

"Yeah, but even the three of us alone won't be able to lock him down." Cora said. Elena and Damon looked at each other. He nodded to her.

"You should come with us." Elena told her. "I'm calling a group meeting."

A few minutes later, they were in a classroom with a few other people. They were going over the plan. "I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena said. "Then when he's distracted..."

"I'll shoot him." Alaric said. "Just long enough to incapacitate him." He clarified.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena said. "Caroline, are you covered?"

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready." Caroline said.

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon said. "Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."

"Which is why it's your job to keep her away."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to knock her out?" Cora asked.

"She's an Original, remember? Even a regular stake to the heart won't work on her." Damon pointed out.

"I'm sorry, this is off topic, but who are you?" Caroline asked. She didn't say it in a mean tone, she had no idea why she was there.

"She's…" Damon looked at Cora. "She's our sister."

"How many of you are there?" Caroline asked.

"I'm adopted." Cora explained. "Don't tell anyone, though. This secret, this one stays between the five of us, okay?" Everyone nodded. "So, how are you two involved?"

Elena answered for her. "Caroline's like you guys, Cora. She got turned last year, but Stefan helped her get through it." Caroline nodded, smiling.

"And the teacher?" Cora asked.

"Alaric's a vampire slayer." Damon told her. She seemed surprised. "And a sort-of friend of ours."

"He's also my guardian." Elena explained. "Since my parents are dead-birth and adoptive."

"So he's one of the good guys." Cora said. Elena nodded.

"Back to getting back to distracting Rebekah…" Caroline said, getting them back on topic.

"Right, Damon can handle that." Elena said.

"How?! She's an original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers." Damon said.

"So then preoccupy her with your charm." Elena said.

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric said.

"Are ever not going to be mad at me for a day?" Damon asked him.

"Doubtful." Cora looked at them.

"Let me guess, they got into a fight."

"Apparently." Elena said. Just then, a dark haired kid entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late. What's going on?" He asked.

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena told him.

"You can't do that to Stefan."

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest."

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's." Tyler said. Cora was really confused as to what was going on. Just then, her phone buzzed. Damon had texted her about the new kid who'd just entered.

-Tyler Lockwood, Mayor's son, Klaus turned him into a vampire-werewolf hybrid.

Cora looked up at him, concerned.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" Caroline asked.

"Uh-oh." Damon said. At that moment, Cora knew that Damon knew what was going on with him. Alaric seemed to notice, too.

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler said. Suddenly, Damon shoved a vervain dart into him. Tyler passed out on the spot.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline asked.

"He's been sired." Damon told the group.

"What?"

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood turned him." Damon explained.

"Loyal how?"

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids."

"So how do I fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Get a new boyfriend." Damon said.

"Wait, you two are…" Cora began.

"Well, we were, are, I'm not so sure about now, but..." Caroline sighed. "I'll take care of this."

"I'll help." Cora said. The two of them picked up Tyler, who was still unconscious, and carried him out of the classroom.

"Let's get him to my car." Caroline told her as they pulled him through the hallways. "I'll take him home."

"Okay." Cora said. "So, you're dating?"

"Well, sort of. It just kinda happened." Caroline told her. "After I became a vampire and he became a werewolf, we started hanging out, trying to help each other deal with the changes that came with them, running from the bad guys, you know, the usual."

Cora laughed. "Well, that's refreshing. Considering how most werewolves consider vampires enemies."

"Well, to be fair, we grew up together." Caroline said. "We just hadn't gotten to know each other until we'd both changed." They placed Tyler in the passenger's side of Caroline's car. "What about you? Any guys?" She asked as they closed the car door.

Cora hesitated. While she had loved her husband, she had never actually been in love before. "Nothing serious," She finally said. "I've dated a lot of different guys, human and vampire, but there was never any…passion, I guess. Granted, I was widowed for a year before I turned"

"But you're eighteen." Caroline pointed out, surprised.

"It was still the eighteen hundreds, things were different then." Cora told her.

"Well, I'm sure one day you'll find the right guy for you." Caroline said.

"Thanks, Caroline." Cora said, smiling.

"Okay, you better get back and help the others." Caroline said. "You have a phone?" Cora nodded and handed it to her. Caroline did something with it, then handed it back to her. "If you ever need anything, call me. No matter how tired I am, I'll answer." She got into her car and drove off.

Cora looked at her phone and saw that Caroline had added her number. She headed back into the school and almost collided with two people in the hallway.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." She said.

"It's okay." The girl said. Cora thought she was beautiful. Her dark hair flowed just below her shoulders. She noticed a guy with dark hair and blue eyes behind her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. That brought her back to reality. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him.

"Yeah, just trying to find my way around here." Cora said. "I'm Cora."

"My name's Bonnie." The girl told her, holding out her hand. Cora shook it. Bonnie's expression became a mix of confusion and surprise.

"Bon, you okay?" The guy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Jeremy."

"Wait. Jeremy Gilbert?" Cora asked.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I'm a friend of Elena." She explained. "I came here so I could help you guys."

"Do…do you know Stefan?" Bonnie asked her.

"We're family." Cora told them.

"So, you're…one of them?" Jeremy asked. Cora nodded, knowing that he was trying to avoid saying the v word so he wouldn't offend her.

"What brings you here?" Bonnie asked. She didn't seem surprised, exactly, since she was used to new vampires showing up, but she also wasn't sure if she should trust Cora yet.

"Elena and Damon asked me to help them." Cora told her. "But first, I need to find them. Which way's the bonfire?"

"You show her." Bonnie told Jeremy. "I'm going to find Matt." Bonnie headed down the hall.

"What happened?" Cora asked.

"It's nothing. We're…sort of in a fight." Jeremy admitted. "It's complicated."

"Well, I hope you guys make up." Cora told him.

"I hope so, too." Jeremy said. "Come on, I think they set it up near the woods behind the field house. I'll show you." He led her outside of the school and toward the forest area.

"So, I'm guessing you heard about what happened to Stefan." He said as they walked.

"That an Original vampire known as Klaus compelled him to shut off his humanity and act as your sister's bodyguard? Yeah, I'm caught up on that much." Cora said. "I can't believe you guys got into this mess in the first place."

"How do you know about Originals anyway?" Jeremy asked.

"A friend of mine warned me to never make a deal with an Original, said it was like a double-edged sword." Cora said. "There's always too much risk of an innocent person getting hurt."

"You don't sound like you're from around here." Jeremy said.

"I'm from Ireland." Cora explained. "I moved to London in 1887. That's where I met the Salvatore brothers. It's a long story, really, you probably don't want to hear all this."

"I don't mind. Stefan's been a friend of ours for a while." Jeremy said. "And while I don't like Damon, I appreciate that he's been helping us. Besides, with these Original vampires popping up, it's nice to have another good one on our side."

"Uh, thanks." Cora blushed. "Is there anything else you can tell me about your friends? I've already met the teacher/hunter, Caroline, and Tyler."

"Well, I don't want to get in any more trouble with Bonnie as it is." Jeremy told her. "She'll tell you about herself."

"Are you two together?" Cora asked. Jeremy seemed surprised. "I have a tendency to notice small things and the way you talk about her, it's kind of obvious you like her."

"Really?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, it's cool. She seems nice, though kind of distant."

"Believe me, she has her reasons…whoa."

By one of the fire pits, they found Damon on the ground with a branch in his abdomen. They walked over to him. Cora pulled the branch out. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"She figured out I was stalling her, skewered me, and left." Damon told her. He winced in pain.

"You'll heal, right?" Cora asked, sitting next to him.

"Yeah, though it might take a while."

"Hey, where's Elena?" Jeremy asked.

"She's still working on her part of the plan." He told him. "I hope."

"Is she in trouble?"

"No, she's fine. This plan was her idea in the first place." Cora pointed out. "We should trust that she knows what she's doing."

A few minutes later, they were helping Damon up. His phone beeped and he looked at it. "It's Ric."

"What's up?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, that's not good." He said, looking at the message.

"Did something happen?" Cora asked, concerned.

"According to him, the ghost of some girl we used to know blew up his car." Cora and Jeremy looked at him horrified. "They're all okay, though."

"Thank god!" Jeremy said. "Elena could've been killed."

"You mean again?" Damon pointed out. He'd said it sarcastically, but Cora could see he was relieved they'd all survived. She put a comforting hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"We should help them." Cora said. "Someone's gotta give them a ride home, considering their first one exploded."

"Hang on." They turned to Jeremy. "Tell Elena that I'm going home. With the way this night's been going..."

Cora understood. She'd been human before and she knew how hard the supernatural stuff could be. "Go on. I'm sure she'll meet you there."

"Thanks." Jeremy said. He turned around and left.

"I'm sure Alaric will make sure they're both okay." Damon said as they started walking toward the parking lot

A few hours later, they were at the Boarding House. Cora walked in as they started fighting about applying medicine. "Give it to me. I can do it." Elena was saying.

"No, let me." Damon insisted.

"Damon, come on."

"Elena, you almost got barbecued. The least I can do is apply first aid." Damon pointed out. She accepted and let him apply it.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help heal you?" Cora asked. "You've gotten a lot of injuries in the past few days."

"It's fine, Cora." Elena told her.

"Besides, she's not really a fan of vampire blood." Damon added. Elena flinched involuntarily. "Sorry." He stopped applying the aid cream.

"It's okay, keep going." She told him. As he healed her, Cora headed back into the hallway and nearly bumped into Alaric.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Alaric told her. "So, you're their sister?"

"Adopted sister, technically." Cora said. "But they're family to me."

"I understand." Alaric said. "I feel the same way about Elena and Jeremy." Cora seemed surprised, but then she smiled. "Have you considered enrolling at the school?"

"Me? A student?" Cora said.

"Why not? I saw how you tried to help us get up unharmed after what happened back there. Besides, it'd give you an opportunity to bond with the rest of the group."

"I'm not sure all of them will trust me." Cora said, remembering how Bonnie had practically run off.

"It doesn't matter. From what I've seen, you'll fit in just fine with them."

"Thank you." Cora told him. She headed back down the hall. Damon had given her a room halfway down the hall from his. She hadn't had to unpack much (one of the perks of being a vampire-at least in her books).

There was a small window that overlooked the garden out back, a small dresser with a mirror was pressed against one wall. There was also an old chestnut desk on the side. She guessed the room used to belong to a writer. Currently, she had a few books lying on it. There was a small bathroom with a walk-in shower and what looked like a canopy over her bed.

She changed into a sky blue nightgown and lay back against her bed. There was a knock at the door. Damon entered. "Hey."

"Hey." Cora said, sitting up. "Checking up on me?"

"Just wanted to see if you were okay. That fire was nasty."

"I'm fine, Damon." Cora said. "So, your friend seems nice. You know, the history teacher?"

"Right."

"I've been thinking about our plan. Maybe I should try and get close with the others."

"Go for it." He said. "From what I've seen, you're already part of our little club anyway. And it's not like you need my permission to do this."

"I know, but I thought you should know about it." Cora told him. He started to leave the room.

"Oh, if it helps, most of us are going to be setting up for some town event tomorrow. Most of them are always helping out at those things."

"Thanks, Damon." Cora said.

"No problem." He headed toward the door. When he got there, he turned to ask her something, he found her asleep on her bed. He smiled, turned her light off, and left her room.


	5. Bonding

That weekend turned out to be the Festival of Lights celebration. The entire town was helping decorate. Cora had ended up in Caroline and Bonnie's group and was helping them hang lanterns.

"So when you did the spell to send Vicki away, did that get rid of Anna, too?" Caroline asked Bonnie.

"I wish. All I did was block the magic that was helping Vicki get a physical foothold here." Bonnie explained. "Jeremy's still got a direct line to the other side, and as long as he wants to see Anna and she wants to see him, she's still here."

"Are you a witch?" Cora asked, surprised. Then again, it explained her reaction the other night when she'd touched her hand.

"Yeah, I am. By the way, I'm sorry about the other night." Bonnie said. "I don't usually trust new vampires because of the bad things that happen."

"I understand. I've run into my share of witches before and I got a bad feeling from some of them." Cora said.

"Well, let's just say Bonnie's got bad luck when it comes to the bad ones." Caroline explained.

"But I know you're one of the good ones, Cora." Bonnie said. "I kind of picked up on that feeling since we met."

"And I know you wouldn't hurt me unless you had to." Cora told her. "So, I'm a little lost as to what else has been happening around here, other than Stefan becoming an emotionless Ripper."

"Well, Jeremy's been seeing the ghost of his ex, Anna." Bonnie explained. "Apparently, he can see ghosts now."

"How did that happen?"

"I went against the balance of nature when I brought Jeremy back to life, and now I'm paying the consequences."

"Well, you can't avoid him forever, you know." Caroline pointed out. "After all, he is your best friend's brother."

"I know that. I just don't know what to do about it." Bonnie said. Suddenly, a blue Camero pulled up. Somehow it didn't surprise Cora that Damon was behind the wheel.

"Greetings, blondie. Witchy. I think you got your voodoo wires all crossed when you got rid of Vicki Donovan." Cora's phone buzzed. She looked and saw Caroline had texted her.

-Matt's sister. Don't ask what happened, you don't wanna know.

"What do you mean, why?" Bonnie asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure I just got spit-roasted by Mason Lockwood's ghost." Damon told her.

"What?"

"And why would you think that?" Caroline asked him.

"Maybe because he chained me to a chair and shoved a hot poker in my chest." Damon told them. "Let's just say I'm having déjà vu."

"I thought you said that ghosts couldn't physically interact with people." Caroline said, turning to Bonnie.

"They can't." Bonnie said, frowning in concern.

"Yeah, well, I don't have time for a vengeful Lockwood. When I kill someone, they're supposed to stay dead." Damon told them. "Whatever you screwed up, fix it." He drove off after that. Cora was staring after him.

"Has he always been that hot-headed?"

"Probably his way of reacting to bad news." Caroline said. Cora looked at her. "Sorry, I just don't like they guy. He's not a good person, even if he is family to you."

"It's okay, Care. You're allowed to have an opinion." Cora said. Then she noticed a blonde guy looking at the group from a few feet away. "Who's that guy staring at us?"

"That would be Matt." Caroline said.

"They broke up when he found out she was a vampire." Bonnie whispered. "She's still a little bitter about it."

"Is it okay if I catch up with you guys?" Cora asked, looking at her messages. She found she'd missed a call from Elena.

"No problem. We'll be right here if you need to find us." Caroline told her.

A few minutes later, she showed up outside Mystic Grill, where she found Elena and the others. "Hey, sorry I'm late. I was helping Bonnie with the lights."

"No problem." Elena said. "I was just asking Jeremy something."

"So, what do you need me to help you with?" Jeremy asked her.

"I've been going through Stefan's old journals. Every single time that he's gone off the rails in the past, his best friend Lexi's been the one to bring him back." Elena explained.

"So where is she now that we need her?" Alaric asked.

"She's dead." Jeremy sighed. "And you want me to try to reach her, don't you?" Cora looked surprised.

"Uh, yeah, apparently my brother can…"

"I know. Caroline told me. She and Bonnie explained it's because she saved you with magic."

"Okay, so apparently you're caught up, then." Elena said.

"Yeah, but her being dead is something new." Cora told her.

"I'm sorry. I know you guys were friends, too."

"Well, to be fair, I didn't know much about her." Cora said. "Though we ran into each other occasionally. It's like she was there when my real sister…" Her voice faded.

"You have a sister?"

"Had a sister. She was the first one to meet the guys." Cora explained. "One of the bad ones took her in and mentored her and she tried to kill me. She's been dead a long time, almost two centuries."

"Whoa, that must be hard for you." Jeremy said.

"I try to remember the real her when I think of her, not the monster she became." Cora said. "It's difficult sometimes, though. But enough about me. Do you think it's possible to reach Lexi?"

"I don't even know if she's on the other side."

"Is that what it's called?" Elena asked.

"That's what Anna calls it. There's not like an official brochure or anything." Jeremy pointed out.

"So what is it, like some sort of supernatural purgatory?" Alaric asked.

"Well, Anna said it's like being here with all of us, only we can't see her or hear her." Jeremy said. "And she can't interact with anyone. She's all alone."

"Vicki could interact. She blew up my car." Alaric pointed out.

"At least no one was hurt." Cora said.

"Vicki had help from a witch on the other side." Jeremy pointed out. "Anna...She's doing this all by herself."

"I'm just saying, maybe we learned our lesson about summoning dead people."

"Look, even if I wanted to help, I've never even met her." Jeremy added. "It would probably take a while before I could reach her."

"Maybe if you used one of us." Cora said. "Elena and I both knew Lexi, maybe it would help."

"I'm not sure. Ric's got a point." Jeremy said. "After what Vicki did…I don't know if this is such a good idea. Look, you said you came here to help your siblings. Maybe you can figure something out." He walked away.

"Or maybe we can't." Cora said.

"Hey, we'll find a way to save him, Cora." Elena pointed out.

"I know that, but how is what I can't figure out. When I last saw him, he was still refusing to drink human blood." Cora told her. "It's been a long time, anyway. I'm going to see if the girls need help with anything else. I'll meet you later." Elena nodded, and she rushed back to where the girls were.

"I've got a ghost problem to deal with, Caroline." Bonnie was saying when she returned. "Save the Jeremy lecture for later." She grabbed her bag, but suddenly everything fell out of it. She reached down to grab the book, when the wind blew it open to a page.

"Okay, did your grimoire just..." Caroline began.

"I think so." Bonnie said, picking up the book so she could read it. As she did, Cora noticed that Bennett was etched into the side.

"Okay, please tell me that's a recipe for witch cookies." Caroline said.

"Are you scared?" Cora asked her, forgetting about the name she saw for a moment.

"The witch stuff freaks me out sometimes." Caroline told her.

"I understand. I was surprised when I met my first witch. She was very powerful, though she was only about fifteen."

"Wow."

"It's a manifestation spell." Bonnie told them. "It's used to reveal veiled matter."

"What's veiled matter?"

"Ghosts."

"I was afraid of that." Cora said.

"We're going to need a private place to do this." Bonnie said. "Cora, you come too. We could use the extra help."

The three of them started walking. "So, I noticed the name Bennett was on the side of your spell book." Cora said.

"Yeah, it belonged to my ancestor, Emily." Bonnie said.

"Wait, you're a Bennett witch?" Cora asked her. Bonnie was too surprised to answer.

"How do you know about them?" Caroline asked.

"One of my friends when I first moved here was a Bennett witch, too. I believe she was Emily's granddaughter-a young woman named Leslie. She made me this ring after I turned." Cora told them. "She was the closest friend I'd ever had."

"Wow, guess my family really knew how to keep the vampire secret." Bonnie said.

"Stefan was the one who told me to go to them for help." Cora told her. She frowned, wondering if they'd ever have a chance of helping her brother.

"Hey." She looked up and saw Caroline looking at her. "It's okay, Cora. We're going to save him. After all, he'd do the same for us." Cora smiled.

"Thanks, Caroline."

"Hey, just remember, you're not alone in this." Caroline told her. "He means something to all of us and we're not going to turn our back on him."

They entered a really big house. It was completely empty inside.

"So this is where you brought Jeremy back to life." Caroline said. Cora looked at her. "Long story."

"Yeah. Sorry, I know it's creepy, but we needed a private place around here to do the spell." Bonnie said.

"There's no chance it's haunted by the hundred dead witches who were horrifically burned to death in this very spot, is there?" Caroline asked her.

"They're not here anymore. And they made it clear they were never coming back." Bonnie said.

"Are you scared of ghosts?" Cora asked Care.

"Ever since we did that séance last year…" Caroline began.

"Don't remind me." Bonnie said.

A few minutes later, Cora was helping Caroline light the candles. "You're good at this."

"I've helped Leslie with a few spells back in the day. She often drew on the candle's flames for help."

"Bonnie, are you sure…" Caroline began, but Bonnie was already casting the spell.

The wind started to pick up as Bonnie kept chanting. "Bonnie, I don't like this." Caroline said.

"She can handle it, Care." Cora told her. Suddenly there was someone sitting with Bonnie.

"Oh, my God. Is that your..." Caroline began.

"Grams."

"This is your grandmother?" Cora asked without thinking. When she looked at the slightly older woman, she could see how similar she looked to Bonnie.

"She's the one who taught her about her powers." Caroline explained. "She passed suddenly doing a powerful spell."

"Yeah, that's pretty bad." Cora said.

"It still upsets Bonnie sometimes, so if you could not bring it up…"

"I get it."

"I can't believe you're here!" Bonnie said.

"Now stop your crying, we don't have time for tears." The older woman turned her gaze to Caroline and Cora.

"Nice to see you again, Caroline."

"Hi, miss Sheila." Caroline said. Then she turned to Cora.

"There's something familiar about you."

"Well, your family's kept my secret for a long time." Cora explained. "And I'm a friend of Stefan."

"I see. Oh, now I remember. Leslie wrote about a young girl that turned under her home."

"That would be me."

Sheila turned back to her granddaughter. "A fine mess you've made, honey. The witches told you there'd be consequences to bringing Jeremy back and you did it anyway."

"I didn't have a choice." Bonnie said. "I love him and I... I couldn't just let him go." Cora understood how she felt.

"I understand. But you cracked open the door to the other side. There's an old witch over here. She took advantage of it." Sheila explained. "She took advantage of you, honey. When you did that spell to send Vicki Donovan away, she wedged the door wide open. Giving a free pass to anybody with unfinished business."

"How do you know this?" Bonnie asked her.

"Witches talk. Even on the other side." Sheila explained.

"Guess it makes sense." Cora said. "Witches always seem to be very close and protective of their kind."

"What does the witch want?"

"That's original vampire business, not yours. I don't want you getting in the middle of that." Sheila told her granddaughter.

"Well, no offense, Sheila, but when the Originals are messing with our friends and family, we're all involved by default." Caroline pointed out. "Okay, I'll be over here." She walked away.

"I'm here because you upset the balance of nature. And it's your duty to set it right. You need to close that door." Sheila said.

"How do we do that?" Cora asked.

"By burning the witch's talisman."

"Talisman?" Cora repeated, confused.

"The necklace." Caroline said, realizing. "Bon, do you remember when Elena's necklace burned her? How you said it had it's own power?"

"You think it belonged to the witch?" Bonnie asked.

"It makes sense, only problem is the necklace is gone." Caroline said.

"Maybe not." Cora said. "When I showed up a couple nights ago, Elena was at the Salvatore house. She had the necklace in her hand when I entered the room."

"She still hasn't worn it since, though."

"I have the feeling Damon knows where it's hidden." Cora explained. "Chances are, it's probably still in the house. It's not much, but at least a place to start looking."

"Okay." Bonnie said. "Then let's go."

A few hours later, the girls had gone through the Boarding House, but they hadn't been able to find the necklace anywhere, not even where Damon told them it was. "I'll call Elena, maybe she knows something." Caroline said.

"I don't get it. Necklaces don't just vanish into thin air." Cora said.

"Well, apparently this one did." Bonnie said. "So, you knew my ancestors?"

"Yeah, they were really strong and brave, not to mention very bright. They were good at finding solutions to problems. They were also very friendly and warm, willing to help anyone who needed it. Leslie herself was known for being a healer."

"Wasn't that dangerous?" Bonnie asked. "Considering what happened?"

"They never knew of her witch heritage. To them, she was just a medicine woman working at the local hospital." Cora explained. "I also picked up on a few details about natural healing remedies." Bonnie picked up another book and flipped through it. She showed the page to Cora.

There was a drawing of a young woman with red hair. She was looking toward the blue sky above her. "I think this is you." The young witch said. "Do you think Leslie could've drawn it?"

"Maybe. Or one of her kids." Cora said.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Caroline said. "Apparently one of Elena's friends is trying to help her out, so I guess we're back to square one."

"Well, I'm going to go see if there's anything I can do." Cora said. "Call me if you find the necklace." She threw on her denim jacket and headed out the door.

When she got to the town square, she immediately collided with someone. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry." Then she noticed who she bumped into.

"Jeremy. We really need to stop running into each other. Literally." She added.

"Yeah, that's going to leave a mark." Jeremy said.

"So, what has you running around in a rush?" Cora asked.

"I'm looking for Anna."

"That ghost girl?" Cora asked.

"I'm worried about her. I know it's crazy, but…" Then she saw what he was getting at.

"You never said goodbye, did you?" Cora realized.

"The last night, she was captured by the council." Jeremy explained. "They killed her."

"I'll help you find her." Cora said. "I know what it's like to never say goodbye to someone." She was thinking of her family, her ex, even her…

"Anna." She turned and saw a girl with dark hair. She and Jeremy walked over to her.

"So you're the famous Anna."

"And you're that girl that's trying to get the Salvatores on the same side." Anna said. Cora was surprised that she knew that. "I've been watching."

"Is everything all right?" Jeremy asked her.

"Ask your ancestors." Cora noticed a guy standing near them.

"What are you doing here, Frederick?" Anna asked him.

"Well, it's a founder's celebration. And we Have got some unfinished business with the founding families." He said. Suddenly, there was a scream. Cora turned and noticed a body. She turned toward Anna, who looked horrified.

"I'm guessing he's not a friend of yours."

"Not ever." Anna said. "We kicked most of these guys out. I have no problem with doing it again if I have to."

"You and what army, little Annabelle?"

"Jeremy? What happened?" Elena asked, running over. Cora glanced around, but the ghosts had disappeared.

"The ghosts of those vampires from the tomb showed up." Jeremy said. "They killed someone."

"This is getting serious." Cora said. "We've got to send them back before they go after someone else."

"Where is Anna now?" Elena asked Jeremy.

"I don't know, okay? I don't even know for sure if she took the necklace." Jeremy said.

"She was the only person who heard us talking about it. Of course she took it." Cora watched her closely. "We have to get it back. We have to destroy it and then close the door."

"I know, but..." Cora turned to Jeremy.

"You're not over her." She said. "You guys never got a chance to say goodbye, and now you're afraid to lose her all over again."

Elena seemed surprised. When she looked at Jeremy, she knew it was true. Then she looked back at Cora in shock at her analysis. "I told you, I'm good at reading people. Besides, I know what it's like losing someone you were in love with."

"She's right." Jeremy said. "I know I shouldn't still have feelings for her, but I do."

"But she's dead, Jer." Elena told him. "Gone. Everything that you're holding on to is in the past, Jer." Cora looked over her shoulder and saw Anna re-appear.

"Hey." They all turned and saw her.

"He's at the beginning of his life, Anna." Elena told her. "You're just holding him back." Anna showed them that she had the necklace. Elena turned to Jeremy. "Call Bonnie. Tell her that you have the necklace. Get her to send the ghosts away." She left.

"Anna," Cora said. The ghost girl looked at her. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry, guys."

"Hey, I get it." Cora said. "I had the feeling you were looking for someone when you disappeared before. But I'm sure you'll find whoever it is even if the spell works."

"Thank you. By the way, I think I saw Caroline's car." Anna told her. "There's a small path near the woods you can use to catch up with them."

"Thanks. Good luck, Anna." Cora said. "Jeremy, I'll call you later." She ran off into the woods. Once she made it through the clearing, she found a car crashed near a tree. Cora could see there was a woman inside, unconscious. Then she noticed the ghosts from before headed toward it. She looked over the car and saw Bonnie and Caroline in it talking.

"Bonnie, you've got your ghost boyfriend drama. Elena has hers. And right now the mother of mine is about to be ghost bait." She heard Caroline saying. "So go and send them all back to the other side, okay?" Caroline got out of the car. Cora ran over to her side.

"Need some back-up? I saw the car just as you pulled up." Cora said.

"Let's show them not to mess with our parents." Caroline said. They both ran toward the ghosts.

Caroline managed to knock one of them down while Cora got the other one. Suddenly, the main one grabbed Caroline from behind. Cora pushed him off of her but before she could punch him, he disappeared. They both looked around and saw the others had disappeared as well.

"She did it." Cora said.

"Well, that's Bonnie." Caroline told her. "She always comes through in the end. Come on, we better help Mayor Lockwood." They headed over to the car.

"Are you okay?"

"I have no idea what happened." Mrs. Lockwood told them. They helped her out of the car gently. "This guy appeared out of nowhere."

"Well, it doesn't look like there are any serious injuries." Cora said.

"Who are you?"

"She's a friend." Caroline told her.

"And you're sure about this?"

"She wouldn't have helped me fight those guys off if she wasn't a good guy." Caroline said. "Besides, you've kinda misjudged before." She added.

Cora looked at the two of them. "I guess you're right." Mrs. Lockwood said. "I've been misjudging a lot lately, but I trust you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Lockwood."

"We better get you out of here." Cora said.

"I can take her home." Caroline told her. "I'd ask you to help, but…"

"Hey, no problem." Cora said. "I have to stop by Elena's on the way home anyway. She left her backpack at my place the other night."

"Okay." Caroline said. "Wait, how…"

"She texted me her address." Cora explained. She turned to Mrs. Lockwood. "Are you sure you can walk?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I've suffered worse before, believe me." She told her.

Cora had just showed up outside Elena's house at the same time Jeremy arrived. He looked kind of…defeated. "Hey."

"Are you okay, Jeremy?"

"I think Bonnie just broke up with me." He said. He shook his head. "I guess I kind of deserve it, seeing my dead ex behind her back."

"Hey, it's not your fault, Jeremy." Cora said. "You were in love with her. Sometimes it's hard to move on, especially when you never get the chance to settle things before they…" She broke off, noticing his expression.

"Have you ever been in love before?"

"In love, I'm not so sure of. But I was widowed for a year before I turned." Cora told him honestly. "I was quite fond of him, though."

"Still, I blew it."

"Just give it some time." Cora said. "I haven't been here long, but I really hope things work out with you two."

"Thanks." Jeremy told her.

"Um, I came to drop this off. Your sister left it at my place." Cora said, holding up Elena's backpack.

"If you want, I can take it in." Jeremy said. "It seems I've gotten on the bad side of every girl I know today."

"They're just angry, they're not going to kill you." Cora pointed out. "Eventually this will just blow over."

"I hope your right."

"I've had years of experience, trust me." Cora told him. Her phone started vibrating. "You should probably go in?"

"Sure you don't want to…"

"Yeah, not tonight." Cora said. "I have enough family stuff going on of my own. I don't need to get involved in anyone else's."

"Right. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me. I'll see you around." Cora walked away from the house and looked at the text message. It was from Damon.

I think we found something that can help us get my brother back to his old annoying self.

Cora dialed his number. "Are you serious? You really found something that might get us out of this mess?"

"It's too soon to tell right now, but I'm with Ric and there's definitely something down here." Damon told her.

"Where's here?" Cora asked.

"Some underground tunnel. Long story."

"You know, how about you explain it tomorrow?" Cora asked. "It's been an exhausting day."

"Same here. I'll show you where it is tomorrow."

"Okay." Cora hung up, then headed back to the Boarding House.


	6. Learning the Truth

The next day, Cora, Elena, and Alaric had headed into the tunnels. Cora shivered, despite the fact she couldn't get cold. The place seriously creeped her out, and she wasn't the only one.

"So the Lockwoods really have no idea that these tunnels are underneath their property?" Elena asked, gripping her flashlight.

"Careful where you shine that thing. Bats hate the light." Alaric said.

"What?" Elena asked.

"Wait, there's bats down here?" Cora asked, suddenly feeling the need to repress the urge to run away. Then she heard Elena scream behind them, and turned around quickly. "What is it?"

"It's nothing." Elena said, annoyed. "Apparently Damon thought it'd be funny to scare the crap out of me."

"Oh, lighten up." Damon said, joining the group.

"Just ignore him. That's what I do." Alaric said.

The group walked toward the tunnels. "So you really can't get in?" Elena asked Damon.

"No. Seems to me like the ancient Lockwood was anti-vampire." The other night, Damon explained to Cora that there was some kind of barrier that prevented vampires from entering the cave they'd found.

"What do you mean, ancient?"

"See for yourself." They headed toward a cave with what looked like ancient writings. Damon stopped just ahead of the tunnel. "Well, this is as far as I get to go." He told them. Elena and Alaric entered the cave. Cora put her hand up to the cave.

"It's strange. It feels as though there's a wall here." She said.

"Just be glad you didn't walk into it." Damon told her.

"What is all this?" Elena asked.

"as far as I can tell, it's a story. In simple, archaeological terms, it's a really, really old story. That right there, is the moon cycle. A man, a wolf."

"A werewolf." Elena realized.

"Yeah, it's the Lockwood diaries. Pictionary style." Damon said.

"I don't understand. I thought the Lockwoods came here with the original founders in the 1860s." Elena said.

"I don't know. Maybe the Lockwoods did, but according to this wall, these werewolves have been here a lot longer than that." Alaric told them.

"How long?"

"Long. It gets better. Show her, Rick." Damon said. Cora noticed him shine a light at what looked like an ancient writing.

"Names. They're not native. They're written in Runic, Viking script." Alaric told the group.

"Vikings?"

"Okay, now I'm completely lost." Cora said.

"It's not that complicated." Alaric said. "This name here," He indicated it with the light. "I translated it and it reads Niklaus."

"Klaus." Elena realized.

"And Elijah...And Rebekah."

"These are the names of the Original family?" Elena said.

"Carved into a cave that's been here since way before the founding of Mystic Falls. Or even the entire New World for that matter."

"Okay, this has gotta be one of Klaus's fakes!" Elena said.

"That's what I said." Damon told her.

"That could be true, except the last name up here made us think otherwise." Alaric explained.

"What's the name?" Elena asked.

"Mikael."

"Mikael. Mikael as in the vampire hunter who knows how to kill Klaus?" Elena asked.

"Okay, I know I'm a little late to the game here, but can someone clue me in on this?" Cora asked them.

A few hours later, the four of them met in Alaric's apartment. Cora was helping him organize the photos he'd taken in the cave. "It's almost like they're hieroglyphics."

"I'm sure we can figure out what they mean." Behind them, they heard Elena and Damon practice fighting.

""Ghost of Christmas Past" Mason Lockwood set up the cave and lead us to a weapon that can kill Klaus." Damon called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but doesn't Mikael have a weapon?" Elena asked. They had filled Cora in on the way home. About how Mikael had been locked up, but Katherine had freed him. Now they had no clue where he was.

"Which probably means the wall will lead us to Mikael, who we have already found and lost." Damon pointed out.

"These images at the very least might tell us what that weapon is." Alaric said.

"Then all we have to do is find out what they mean." Elena said.

"We should start with figuring out what the individual ones mean first." Cora said. The group looked at her. "I took a class last summer."

"Okay, but how are we supposed to figure out what it means?" Damon asked.

"Well, if the story is about the Original family living here, then we go straight to the source." Elena said.

"Are you sure?" Cora asked. "I mean, no offense, but Rebekah doesn't seem like the type who'd just tell you this stuff."

"Well, I have to try, at least." Elena said. "If we stand any chance of taking Klaus down…"

"I get it. Just promise me you'll be careful around her."

"Don't worry, I've dealt with worse before." Elena reassured her. She walked out of the house.

"So, any ideas on what these pictographs mean?" Damon asked.

"Well, I'm no expert at it," Cora said. "But I'm sure we'll figure this out."

About an hour later, she and Ric were still looking at the photos. "I think I figured this one out." Cora said. "From the caves, I've seen this symbol repeating across the wall."

"And?"

"If what Elena's saying is true, this is the sign for vampire." Cora told him.

Alaric looked at the picture. "I think you're right." Elena walked in as they continued going over the other signs.

"Rebekah will come 'round."

"You sure about that? I mean a thousand year old vampire, I'm sure, is not in the art of patience."

"She's a thousand year old vampire, who's joined the cheerleading squad." Elena pointed out. "There is a whole different set of rules that play here, Ric. I got this." She showed them a message on her phone.

"You think you can handle this?" Cora asked her.

"I think so." Elena said. "Besides, she's the only one who can tell us anything."

"Good luck." Cora said as she left the room.

"It's almost like your sisters." Alaric said.

"Well, I used to have one." Cora explained. "And Elena reminds me of myself. We both care a lot about our friends."

"Yeah, though some of them are kind of weird."

"How did you become friends with them, anyway?" Cora asked.

"Believe it or not, Damon actually killed me." Alaric explained. Cora looked surprised. "Long story short, I have this ring that keeps me from dying at the hands of vampires." He held it up so she could see it.

"I think I heard about that. The Gilbert ancestors wore them, right?" Cora asked. Now it was his turn to look surprised. "I used to live in Mystic Falls in the early 1890s."

"That would explain how you know so much."

"Yeah, and the others?"

"Well, like most of the students, I kinda got pulled into this." Alaric said. "We've been trying to keep Elena safe since before the sacrifice ritual."

"Yeah, I kinda figured." Cora said. "You're also their legal guardian, right?"

"Well, I used to date Elena and Jeremy's aunt." Alaric explained. "Then Klaus killed her."

"I'm sorry." Cora said. "I know how hard it is to lose someone important in your life."

"Thanks. But I guess it kind of worked out. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for these guys."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Cora said. "I've only been here three weeks and I already feel like I'm one of the group."

"Well, it's hard not to fit in this town." Alaric pointed out. He looked at one of the pictures. "Hey, does this symbol look familiar to you?" He showed it to her.

"I think I've seen that somewhere before. I don't remember where, though." Cora said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry, Ric. I don't know. Maybe we should call someone who knows more about symbols and their meanings." Cora told them.

About two hours later, Bonnie entered the apartment. "Hey. I got your message."

"Yeah, great! I'm sorry that the place is such a mess. I'm obsessed..." Alaric said.

"Well, we've been working on this almost all afternoon." Cora pointed out.

"I didn't see you for a second." Bonnie said, noticing her in the room for the first time. "Brought the necklace that wouldn't die." She held it up.

"That's great." Cora noticed that something seemed slightly off about Bonnie. Alaric must've noticed, too. "You okay?"

"Been better." Bonnie said. She looked at Cora. "I'm guessing Elena didn't tell you."

That's when Cora remembered. Elena explained that Jeremy had seen the ghost of his ex the other day and that he and Bonnie broke up. "Bonnie..."

"Listen, Jeremy's an idiot." Alaric told her. "I know this with certainty, because I was once a Jeremy. Trust me, he'll learn...Eventually."

"I'm sure he will. Whenever he talks about you…" Cora broke off as Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, this is not the time to talk about it."

"It sucks, but worse things have happened." Bonnie shrugged.

"I've been staring at this image all day, wondering why it looked so familiar. I was right!" He showed them the picture and held the necklace next to it.

"It's the same design." Bonnie realized.

"I knew it I'd seen that pattern somewhere before." Cora said.

"So, your grandmother said this necklace belonged to the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus, right?" Alaric said. "Now, this symbol is repeated all across the wall. I've been trying to figure out what it meant. And now I know." He wrote a post it and placed it on the photo. It read "witch".

"I still find it strange that Elena's necklace belonged to the Original witch." Cora said.

"Well, we never found out where your brother got the necklace from." Bonnie told her. She sat down next to her. "Stefan gave it to her when they started dating. A few weeks before you showed up, it shocked her."

"You think someone was trying to trace its location?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, but if it's true, it must've been how Klaus and Rebekah found out about her." Bonnie said.

A few hours later, Cora was sitting outside the cave while the others were inside talking. She'd helped Ric and Bonnie transcribe the pictures the best she could. They were explaining everything to Elena now.

"We filled in what we could. (He sticks post-its to the different symbols) a Vampire, werewolf, slaughter, mayhem etc."

"That's the white oak tree that was used in this cult to create the vampires, which means that was when they burned down the tree, destroying the only way that they could be killed." Elena explained.

"Wow, sounds like Rebekah filled you in on a lot." Cora said.

"Well, she let me walk out alive, so that's saying something." Elena shrugged.

"O.k. so tree equals weapon, sort of. We already knew that." Alaric said. He aimed his light at a small drawing they hadn't seen before. "What we are not sure is this: we've got the witch symbol and what looks like a bleeding heart. Upside down figures usually signified death, of some kind."

"Huh, that's weird. I guess we didn't notice that sign before." Cora said.

"Mikael killed the witch by ripping out her heart." Elena explained. "But... why is that one connected to the witch's death?"

"We don't know. We haven't gotten that far." Bonnie said.

"Wait a minute." Cora said, pulling a copy of the notes she'd written out of her bag. "What's that symbol connected with the witch?"

"I don't know." Elena said, walking toward the entrance. Cora glanced at the symbol again briefly, then at her copy of the drawings she'd hand-sketched with the words underneath.

"Elena, look." Elena looked at the notes, then back at the symbol, figuring it out.

"Oh my god! Rebekah doesn't know the real story!" Elena said.

"You figured it out?" Bonnie asked.

"That sign is a cross between the one for vampire and the one for werewolf." Cora explained. "But that doesn't make sense…"

"It means hybrid." Alaric said. "So that means…"

"Klaus killed the Original witch, not Mikael." Elena said. "And she thought it was Mikael the whole time."

"Hang on, Elena. I'm not so sure telling her's a good idea." Cora said.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Let her keep believing a lie?" Elena pointed out. "Besides, she would probably find out sooner or later."

"I guess you're right. Just be careful." Cora said. "Last thing I want is for her to tear your head off."

After spending another few hours anaylzing the drawings on the wall with Bonnie and Ric, Cora returned home. She was about to head upstairs when she passed by the living room. Rebekah was sitting alone by the fireplace.

It was true that she didn't particularly like the Original, but she had been raised better than to leave someone that was hurting. "Are you okay?" Cora asked, entering the room.

Rebekah turned to her, eyes still wet with tears. "I'm fine, really…"

"I know the truth hurts, but the world's a hard place sometimes. Especially these days." Cora said.

"So, it is true." Rebekah sighed. "My family is so messed up."

"So what? I've got two brothers who are fighting, and one of them's been compelled by yours." Cora said.

"Well, Nik has trust issues. He left me daggered in a box for ninety years for crossing him." Cora looked at her, surprised by this information.

"At least you're not trying to end your family feud." She finally said.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Rebekah asked.

"Because I know what it's like to feel like you're alone." Cora said. "And I know we're not friends or anything, but you looked like you needed someone to talk to." Rebekah smiled.

"Well, I don't want to be your enemy, but I have family to protect, too."

"I understand." Cora told her. She headed upstairs. She was telling the truth, she didn't really want to fight Rebekah, but she also knew she had to help the others save Stefan. She collapsed on her bed when she got a text message. She looked at it.

We managed to find Mikael. Tell you about it tomorrow-D

She relaxed and leaned into her pillow. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.


	7. Homecoming

A few days later, Cora was helping Damon and Elena fill bottles in the bathroom of the house. "We can't trust Rebekah not to turn on us." Elena said.

"Oh really. Cause these Original vampires are usually so reliable." Damon pointed out.

"Bonnie was right. Rebekah may be mad at Klaus now but - he is her brother." Elena sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Cora said. "Is it weird that I feel bad for her?" Damon turned and looked at her. "Hey, you weren't there after she got the news. She was really upset." She ran her hand through her short red curls. "I wish it didn't have to be like this."

"Trust me, I don't like it either, Cora." Elena said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "But we don't have choice if we're going to take Klaus out."

"I know."

"Still, There are too many things, that can go wrong with this plan. Too many people that can make it go wrong." Elena pointed out.

"You're telling me. I have to face my other "sibling"," Cora air quoted, "Who probably doesn't even know that I'm still alive. Last he saw me, I was just a human girl ready to start her life over."

"Relax, girls. I'm forming a back-up plan in case things go wrong." Damon told them.

"What is it?" Elena asked.

"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret." Damon pointed out. Just then, Stefan entered the room.

"I need to borrow a tie."

"You have your own ties." Damon pointed out.

"I'm a hundred and sixty-two years old and I'm going to a Homecoming Dance. I need better ties!" Cora frowned. This definitely wasn't the Stefan she knew.

"You could not go." Elena told him.

"I'm compelled to protect you. And if I look your track record at high school Dances- it's pretty tragic." Stefan said. "My luck, you go and get yourself murdered by the Homecoming Queen..."

Elena turned and picked up one of the grenades.

"Hey, careful!" Damon warned her.

"I know how to do it! Alaric taught me!" Elena pointed out.

"Elena! If this thing blows up in our face- just remember: only two of us heal quickly." Damon pointed out. He placed it down without setting it off.

"Please tell me that you have a better plan than wolvesbane grenades." Stefan said.

"Never your mind, brother. Less you know the better." Damon pointed out.

"My freedom from Klaus rests entirely upon you guys executing your plan perfectly. So, excuse me if I'm a bit cynical." Stefan told them.

"You're the one we should be worried about. If Klaus asks you one wrong question- whole thing falls apart." Elena pointed out.

"You do have reason to worry, but if I look back in our history of epic plan failures, it's usually because one of us let our humanity get in the way. Upon taking odds on how this thing goes down, it's certainly not gonna be me who screws it up." He said. "I'll see you at Homecoming. I can't wait." He left the room.

"Wow. He is really cold without his humanity." Cora said.

"It's not like you've never shut off before." Damon said.

"I never did. Not even after I first turned." Cora said. "And you remember what happened to my real sister. Because of her, I vowed to never shut off my emotions."

"You have a sister?" Elena asked.

"Had a sister." Cora corrected. "She would've been gone by now either way."

"What happened?" Elena asked.

"Long story short, she got turned, flipped the switch first chance she got and tried to kill me. I was still human at the time, so I took her out in self-defense." Cora explained. Elena seemed surprised. "But I refuse to let that happen with Stefan."

"Hey, we'll get him back." Damon told her. "I know we will."

"Yeah."

"You should pick out your dress for Homecoming tonight." Damon told her.

"But I don't have any dresses." Cora pointed out.

"You know, once this Klaus thing blows over, you've got to come shopping with me and Caroline." Elena told her. Cora nodded.

"You might want to check your wardrobe again." Damon told her.

Cora headed up to her room. There, on the bed, lay a strapless navy blue dress. She smiled to herself.

A few hours later, she had changed into the dress. Her red hair fell in curls just above her shoulders. She touched her small, glass pendant, then walked into the next room. "Hey, are you…what happened?"

"We couldn't take the chance she wouldn't turn on us." Elena told her. She looked a little upset about it. Damon came in and covered her body.

"In the back. Harsh."

"It had to be done! Rebekah was never gonna be completely on our side." Elena pointed out.

"I'm not judging you. It's very- "Katherine" of you." Damon told her.

"Not the way to make me feel better about myself, Damon." Elena said.

"It was a complement. Sort of..."

"Right…" Cora said. She sat down next to Elena.

"Stefan's right! Someone's gonna let their humanity get in the way and screw the whole thing up. It's probably going to be me." Elena said.

"Elena, you just daggered somebody. You will be fine." Damon told her.

"Yeah, but I feel bad about it. I care too much, that's the problem, Damon! I'm the weak link!"

"If it makes you feel any better, she's not really dead."

"I know it's hard getting used to this stuff." Cora said. "But sometimes we don't have a choice." Elena turned to her, smiling. In some ways, Cora reminded her of herself.

"Do you trust him? Mikael?" Elena asked Damon.

"No."

"Even I don't trust him. That guy seriously gives me the creeps." Cora said.

"What about Stefan?"

"No. Not as long as he is under Klaus's control."

"Then we need a better plan."

"I know what to do. Your just not gonna like it." Damon told Elena.

"Why not?"

"Because when this all goes down, I don't want you having any part of it." Damon said.

"What does that mean?" Elena asked.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Damon told her.

"Elena, why don't you get ready?" Cora asked. "I'll help him out here."

"Okay. You look great, by the way." Elena told her on the way out.

"She's not lying, you know. You look amazing."

"That's cause I have a great friend." Cora pointed out. "You love her, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Damon. You know you can't fool me." Cora said. "I see how you look at her when you think she's not looking."

"Okay, okay. You're right. But she's still hung up on my brother." Damon told her. "I'm happy just to have her in my life, even if I'm not the guy she wants to be with."

"You're a really good friend, Damon. Maybe one day she'll feel the same." Cora said. They looked at each other for a moment.

"You should get to the dance." Damon told her. "I'll meet you later." Cora touched her necklace again, as though to make sure she was still wearing it. Then, she left.

A couple hours later, Cora found herself headed to the party with Elena and Matt. "So much for Homecoming." Elena said.

"This is weird." Matt commented. "Us being here together."

"Tell me about it." Cora said.

"There's Caroline. She doesn't know anything. Act normal!" Cora nodded. Of course, she knew it was really Katherine. Damon had told her about this part of the plan: in order to keep Elena out of danger, he called Katherine to take her place.

"Hey- Klaus is here!" Caroline said, approaching the group.

"What?"

"Yeah! Apparently our sired hybrid-friend Tyler thought it'd be okay to let his master throw a party!" Caroline said. Everyone just looked at her. "I expected more surprise!"

"I've learned to not be surprised by anything Klaus does." Katherine told her. "I'm gonna go find Bonnie." She left.

"What's going on? And what are you two doing here together? Thought you were supposed to be here with Rebekah." Caroline said.

"Plan has changed. I need a drink!" Matt said, walking away from her.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." Cora said.

"You're telling me. I haven't seen him act weirder since he found out about me over the summer." Caroline said.

"Well, it sounds like he's still getting used to the supernatural thing, from what Elena's been telling me." Cora said. "It'll be okay."

"I hope so." Caroline said.

"I'm going to catch up with Elena." Cora told her. She found Katherine outside. She saw a man walking toward her. She guessed it was Klaus. She stayed near the door and listened in to their conversation with her vampire hearing.

"Well, seems I have you to thank for Mikael`s demise." Klaus said.

"He came at me. I didn`t have a choice." Katherine said, playing her part as Elena so perfectly, it almost scared Cora.

"Still, I´m impressed. It`s not easy for a human to dagger an Original."

"It wasn`t the first time."

"Right. Elijah." Cora turned toward them, but stayed by the door. "You seem nervous."

"I´m not nervous. I just don`t like you."

"Let`s get straight to the point then ,shall I, my love?" Klaus said. "People have been after me for 1,000 years. And I am always one step ahead. So whatever it is you`re thinking of trying, go for it, give it your best shot. You won`t succeed."

Cora was still listening to them. "You won't be for luck of trying." Katherine said.

"You'd be smart to tell Damon to mind his manners tonight, because if I die, I've already ensured that he'll die along with me!" Klaus told her. "Even in death my hybrids have their orders. So, you kill me you're killing him too." He walked away.

Cora's blue eyes met Katherine's concerned gaze. "Elena." She said, keeping her cover.

"I know. We can't let him get hurt."

"I didn't think you cared about him."

"I don't, but if Stefan gets his humanity back at the cost of his brother, it will destroy him." Katherine pointed out. "I have to go. You stay here and if anyone asks, tell them I'm in the bathroom."

"What are you…"

"I know how to save him, but you're not going to like it." Katherine said. "I'll catch up with you later." She left in a hurry. Cora watched after her for a while, until she heard Bonnie call her.

"You okay here?"

"Yeah." Cora said. "I just really hope this works."

"So do I." Bonnie said. "I should probably get in there. Can you cover me?" She headed inside. Cora looked out at the party outside. Then she heard something inside and ran in. She was surprised to see that Bonnie had incapacitated Tyler and Damon.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Bonnie's concentration broke and Damon got up. Tyler remained on the floor, passed out.

"You weren`t supposed to witchy migraine me!" Damon told Bonnie.

"You weren`t supposed to kill Tyler!" Bonnie pointed out.

"He tried to bite me!"

"Like once wasn't enough?" Cora asked. They both turned to her, surprised. "Elena told me. Besides, that's what started this mess to begin with."

"What is this?" Bonnie asked, noticing something under Damon's jacket.

"Nothing."

"Oh my god, is that the..."

"Shh! They`re everywhere!"

"Why do you have it?"

"Because I`m the only one who can get inside the house!"

"How'd you even get that?" Cora asked. "On second thought, I don't want to know."

"Cora, keep an eye on Elena." Damon told her.

"I think I saw her go outside." Bonnie said. "Come on." They headed back to the backyard.

Cora noticed that Katherine was back and waved her over. "Elena!"

"Guys, thank goodness." Katherine said. "I think Mikael is looking for me."

"What? Why?" Bonnie asked. Cora could see two hybrids behind Katherine, headed right for her.

"That's why!" Cora said, pointing them out to her. Bonnie turned to Elena.

"Run, now!" Bonnie told her. Katherine nodded and ran off.

"Think she'll make it out okay?"

"I don't know, a hybrid's much faster than a human." Bonnie said. "Though Elena's pretty smart, though. I know she'll be okay."

"You guys are really great friends." Cora said. They sat down at one of the tables, away from the party.

"Were you close with my family?" Bonnie asked her. "When my Grams showed up that time, she spoke as though she knew you."

"I guess she just got a feeling or something." Cora said. "It's like that with most witches. But yeah, Leslie and I were as close as you and Elena are. She wasn't just a friend, she was practically my family."

"Wow." Bonnie said. "That's pretty close."

"Yeah. I haven't had a close group in a long time. I spent last summer with a group of girls obsessed with theater."

"Considering our group consists of witches, vampires, and hunters, you fit right in here." Bonnie said. They laughed, when Cora's phone buzzed. She looked at the text message and frowned.

She looked up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Something went wrong." Cora said, showing the message to Bonnie. "I should go see how he's doing."

She found Damon in the hall. "Damon?" He turned around, noticing her. "What happened?"

"Stefan saved Klaus." Damon told her.

"What?" Cora hadn't seen that coming.

"Mikael got killed, Klaus is still alive, but he did give Stefan back his humanity."

"Well, at least there's one bright side to this." Cora said, trying to stay cheerful. He looked at her. "We've got to tell Elena what happened, don't we?" He nodded. She took his arm and they left the Lockwood's house.

"How did this happen?" Elena asked them. They'd found her sitting in the living room at home and had explained everything to her.

"We thought of everything, Elena! Klaus having hybrids. Mikael turning on us. We brought in Katherine so you weren`t in danger. Anything that could have gone wrong, we were prepared!"

"I don`t understand. Stefan wanted Klaus dead! More than anything! That`s what we were counting on." Elena said. That's when Cora realized this was Katherine's plan to save Damon from the hybrids-by sending Stefan in to keep Klaus from being killed.

"We blew it."

"No, we didn't." Cora said. They looked at her. "We lost one battle, we didn't lose the war. We'll find another way to stop Klaus. As for Stefan," She hesitated for a moment. "We should try to find him, get his side of things." She decided to keep quiet about Katherine's involvement.

Damon seemed to calm down as she spoke. Elena sat down on the chair.

"Where`s Katherine?" She asked.

"She ran away." Damon told them. "Who blames her? Klaus would`ve crushed her."

"He would've killed her." Cora corrected. "I know how close we were to getting him out of our lives."

"Yeah," Elena said. "I just can't believe it didn't work."

"On the bright side, we're all still alive." Cora pointed out.

"You really think we'll find another way?" Damon asked, joining her on the couch.

"Of course I do. I'm not going to let Klaus mess with my family." Cora said. "Besides, you taught me never to give up just because things look bad."

"Is it okay if I crash here tonight?" Elena asked.

"Sure." Damon said.

"You know, you can stay in my room with me." Cora offered. "It's been a while since I've had a sleepover and I've got some extra supplies."

"Thanks, Cora." Elena said. She got up and left the room.

"Are you okay?" Cora asked Damon after she'd left.

"I don't know." Damon told her. "I just thought I could save my brother."

"We will save him." Cora said. "I remember someone who told me it's important to keep fighting for the important people in your life."

Damon smiled. "Yeah, I really need to learn to take my own advice."

"You taught me to never give up. You and your brother." Cora told him. "So I'm not going to let you guys give up, either."

"I don't know what any of us would do without you, Cora." She put an arm around his shoulder.

"I feel the same way. At this point, I feel like we'd all be lost without each other."

"That's why we all fit together." Damon told her.

"I'm going to check in on Elena." Cora said. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I will be. Thanks to your help." She headed upstairs and found Elena already asleep. She realized she was still wearing her necklace from the party. She figured she'd better keep it on. She knew they'd find a way to stop Klaus and save Stefan. She wasn't going back on her promise now.


	8. Klaus' Attack

Cora met Elena and Bonnie at the Grill. It'd been a few days since the Homecoming incident. She sat down with them. "Hey. How are you holding up?"

"I feel like I´m going crazy. Totally paranoid all the time." Elena said.

"You have a right to be. Klaus is still out there and he knows you tried to kill him." Bonnie pointed out.

"Why hasn´t he made a move? There hasn´t been no sign about him. Nothing."

"Well, I can tell you that if he's anything like I think, he's probably waiting to make his move." Cora said. "Most of the bad ones I've come across tend to know what they're doing."

"It's a good thing you're one of the good ones then." Bonnie said. "But I'm worried, too. Every time I close my eyes I have that nightmare. On repeat!"

"The same dream?" Elena asked.

"Yeah! Four coffins, Klaus is in one of them. It´s weird."

"What if it´s not just some dream? What if it´s like... you know...witch dream." Elena asked.

"She could be right. Leslie's visions would often manifest as dreams." Cora told Bonnie. "Maybe they're trying to tell you how to stop him."

"True, but that doesn't mean anything until I figure out what it means." Bonnie said. She sighed. "What about Stefan? Has there been any sign of him?"

"He betrayed us Bonnie. The Stefan that we know is gone." Elena said.

"I refuse to believe that." Cora said. "Though I'm worried about his disappearance. I keep getting a bad feeling about it."

"How is Damon handling it?" Bonnie asked.

"Damon is...Damon."

"Honestly, I think he'd fall apart without us." Cora said. "I've never seen him like this."

"Speaking of falling apart, have either of you seen Jer?" Elena asked. "He took off this morning and I haven't been able to reach him." Cora and Bonnie looked at each other.

"Haven't spoken to him since that ghost thing."

"I thought I saw him earlier, but I don't remember. Looked like he was headed out of town, but I couldn't tell."

After a couple of hours, Elena was still trying to reach Jeremy. Bonnie had left. Damon was trying to teach Cora how to throw darts. "Okay, just cause you've had time to learn this, doesn't mean I have."

"I still can't believe you've never done this before." Damon said.

"Please, I've been a busy girl." Cora said. She threw one of the darts and missed, instead striking the wall.

"Jeremy, the minute that you get this call me!" Elena shouted into her phone. She hung up. "Unbelievable!"

"You are feisty when you are mad." Damon told her. Cora pulled the dart out of the wall, then turned to Elena.

"It's not that I'm mad. I'm just- I'm worried."

"But why? He lost his job at the Grill. He can survive, Elena." Damon told her.

"He is spiraling. Ever since Bonnie broke up with him, he is moody, he is not really talking to anyone." Elena explained. Now Cora was really worried. True, she'd only been in town a couple weeks, but this didn't sound like the Jeremy she met in the school hallways.

"It's typical teenager." Damon said.

"Who has seen ghosts and has lost everyone that he cares about." Elena pointed out.

"Not everyone. He still has you." He said.

"Well, I don't know him that well, but this doesn't sound like him." Cora said.

"It's not the first time he's spiraled." Elena said. "After we lost our parents, he started doing drugs." She lowered her voice so that Cora was the only one who heard her. "The guys helped us take care of that problem."

"That makes sense. It's totally something they'd do." Cora said. "Maybe you should talk to him." She turned back to the dart board and managed to hit the outer circle of the target. She turned and saw them talking, then noticed someone else had arrived and walked over to them.

"Klaus." Elena said, taken slightly by surprise.

"You gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone? It's little beneath you, don't you think?" Damon asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate." He told them. A guy showed up. Cora knew it was one of his hybrids. "Get a round in, would you Tony?" He left for the bar.

"I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour." Damon said.

"My sister seems to be missing. Need to sort that out." Klaus told them.

"Cute blonde bombshell, psycho. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Truth is I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here." Cora seemed stunned. _You have got to be freaking kidding. _She thought.

"Oh, I imagine you're wondering how this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. Unless I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word."

"And what could you possibly want?" Elena asked him.

"Oh for starters you can tell me where I might find Stefan." Klaus said.

"Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass." Damon told him. He put an arm on Cora's shoulder protectively.

"Well you see that is a shame. Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine!"

"That sounds like a "Klaus- and Stefan- problem"" Elena pointed out.

"Well, this is me broadening the scopes, sweetheart."

"I swear, if you do anything to hurt them…" Cora began. She broke off when she realized they were all staring at her.

"And who might you be?"

"I'm…"

"She's my cousin." Damon said. Cora gave him a look. "And she knows about as much of my brother's location as the rest of us."

"That really is too bad. She's quite cute."

"Why don't you do us all a favor and go to hell?" Cora said, not at all flattered by his comment. She couldn't stand him for what he did to Stefan and she knew she'd never forgive him for it. She glared as he left.

"Wow. You've grown into quite a little badass, haven't you?" Damon said, impressed by her.

"Well, when people hurt my family and friends, it makes me really angry." Cora told him.

A few hours later, she was helping Elena set the table at her place. "Thanks for coming over, Cora."

"It's not like I had anything better to do, aside from giving Klaus the death glare." Cora pointed out.

"So, you ready?" Alaric asked Elena.

"Vampires, hybrids and originals, no problem! My rebellious brother, I'm worried!" Cora put a hand on her shoulder.

"Proof, you' re still human."

"I'm worried, too." Cora told her. "I know how dangerous this could get."

"It helps to have friends like you." Elena said. Jeremy entered the room then. "Just in time! We're cooking."

"Sorry, I'm just passing through." Jeremy told her.

"Oh, wait a little. Stay in, have a meal together like a typical family." Alaric said.

"Why?"

"Maybe because you got fired and you didn't tell anyone?!" Elena said. Cora looked really worried. She knew this wasn't going to work.

"Ahh, look, can we do this later?" Jeremy told them. "I made plans with Tyler. He`s right outside."

"When did you start hang out with Tyler Lockwood?" Alaric asked.

"I don't know... Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Jeremy! It matters! He was sired by Klaus. He is dangerous!"

"He can still hear you. He is right outside." Jeremy said. "Besides, you, of all people are gonna lecture me on who I can and can't hang out with?"

"Whoa, what is wrong with you people?" Cora said, getting between the two siblings. "Look, we're all under a lot of stress because of Klaus. Yelling at each other isn't going to solve anything." Elena and Jeremy looked at each other.

"Sorry." Elena said after a long moment of silence. "I've just been really freaked out over everything lately."

"I get it." Jeremy said. He turned to Cora. "So, what brings you here?"

"Thought I'd help your sister out tonight, it gets lonely in that house sometimes." Cora said.

"Look, I'd like to stay, but Tyler's still out there." Jeremy pointed out.

"Forget it, you can't go out with him." Elena said.

"Why don't we just invite him in?" Cora asked. Elena and Alaric looked at her like she was crazy. "You guys can talk to him about…recent developments."

"That's…a really good idea." Alaric said.

"I've had years of finding simple solutions to problems." Cora said.

A few minutes later, they were all sitting together. Cora could see how uncomfortable Elena was. "This is weird. Klaus´s hybrid stalking me and now you´re just sitting in our kitchen."

"Look, maybe I should go."

"Oh, stay. You´re not doing anything." Jeremy said.

"Unless you have to, you know, check in with your hybrid master." Elena said.

Tyler laughed. "It´s not like that Elena." For a moment, no one said anything.

"Tell me Tyler...What is the difference between being sired and being compelled?" Alaric asked.

"Compulsion that´s just mind control, like hypnosis. And being sired is...it´s like faith. You do something because you believe it´s the right thing." Tyler said.

"So you believe that serving Klaus is the right thing?" Elena asked.

"I don't think it's like that…" Cora began, when Tyler interjected.

"I don´t serve him. Klaus released me from a curse that was ruining my life. I owe him for that."

"What if he asked you to jump of a bridge?" Alaric asked.

"He wouldn´t! And even if he would I`ll be fine. I´m a hybrid." Cora pressed her hand against her forehead. For a guy who was supposedly their friend, he certainly wasn't bright.

"Okay, so what if he asked you to rip your heart out?" Elena asked.

"Again, he wouldn`t."

"What if he did?"

"I don't know! Then I´d rip out my heart!" Tyler said. Everyone looked shocked. "You guys sound like Caroline, getting all freaked out about something you don´t understand."

"You're right, Tyler. I don´t understand." Elena said. "Klaus has terrorized every single one of us and you´re just blindly loyal to him."

"You're overthinking it. I can still make my own decisions."

"Can you prove that?" Everyone turned and looked at Cora. "Look, I know a little about sire bonds, but not that much."

"What are you getting at, Cora?" Jeremy asked.

"Look, I know Ty's your friend, and I want to trust him, but until he can make a choice that goes against Klaus at his own free will, I don't trust him." Cora said. She turned to Tyler. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's no problem. Besides, it's not like we were friends to start with."

"True, but I hope one day we can be. For Caroline's sake." She added. She noticed Jeremy on his phone. He hung up.

"What was that about?" Elena asked. She must've noticed, too.

"It was nothing." Jeremy said.

"I got to go. thanks for the food offer, but..."

"Next time?" Tyler left the house. Cora almost felt bad for him, but she knew it was probably for the best.

"That was illuminating." Alaric said.

"So, Tyler Lockwood is a lunatic who has access to our house." Elena said.

"It's not his fault. If he's sired, he has to do what Klaus says." Cora pointed out. "It effects what he does."

"Honestly, I don't even think Tyler is fully aware of what little reason he is buying what he's saying." Alaric said.

"Great! That's a wonderful influence for you, Jer..." That's when Cora realized Jeremy was gone. "Jeremy?"

"He must've slipped out while we were talking." Cora said. Elena noticed a small object on the table. (Jeremy's protection ring is lying on the table)

"That's his ring!"

"Where'd he go?"

The three of them ran out the front door. Jeremy was standing in the middle of the road. "Jeremy? What is he doing?" Elena asked.

Cora could hear a car coming from a distance with her vampire hearing. "Oh, god! He didn't!" Sure enough, a car came flying around the corner…straight for Jeremy.

"Jeremy!" The group ran toward him. Alaric pushed Jeremy out of the way before the car could hit him, taking the hit instead. Cora ran over to Jeremy while Elena checked on Alaric.

The car stopped and they noticed the hybrid that was with Klaus earlier. "There I go again. Bumping into people." Cora glared at him as he drove away. Elena saw Alaric was wearing the ring.

"He's gonna be o.k.! Are you all right?" Elena turned to Jeremy.

"I don't understand."

"He doesn't have any injuries." Cora told her.

"Who was that on the phone earlier?" Elena asked.

"It was Klaus!"

"You were compelled, Jeremy! We've gotta get him inside- help me!" They all helped get Alaric inside.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor or something?" Cora asked as soon as they had layed him down on the couch.

"He'll be okay. He was wearing the Gilbert ring." Elena said.

"It's a special ring that's passed down through our family." Jeremy explained. "One of the Bennett ancestors created it to protect humans from a supernatural death."

"So, if a vampire or hybrid kills him, he'll come back to life?" Cora asked. "That's amazing."

"Yeah, but it's not enjoyable for the person getting killed." Jeremy pointed out. "Considering your brother's one of the guys who killed me before."

"Speaking of, we should call him. Let him know what happened." Cora said. "This whole Klaus thing is getting out of control. I always heard he was ruthless, but to actually see something like this happen…"

A few minutes later, Damon showed up. "How is he?" He asked.

"He is dead, but he had his ring. Klaus's hybrid hit him. Now we just wait..." Elena said.

"Jeremy, why weren't you on vervain?" Damon asked. "Where is your bracelet?" Jeremy looked at his wrist, realizing the vervain bracelet was gone.

"I don't know."

"It was Tyler! He had to have been. That's why he was hanging out with you! To get you off the vervain." Elena said.

"Hang on…" Cora began.

"Klaus is trying to send us a message. He wants us to find Stefan who stole his coffins full of his dead family members." Damon told the group.

"Coffins?" Elena repeated.

"Yep! So all we have to do is find four coffins and- voila no one else on your family's Christmas list needs to die!"

Cora remembered that Bonnie had been having a dream about a set of coffins. Maybe they were right. Maybe they really were visions.

"Wait- that's your big plan? To steal back four dead originals so this evil hybrid doesn't kill me and everyone else we know?" Jeremy asked.

"You got a better idea?" Damon asked him.

"Yeah! Let's get the hell outta here! Pack our bags and go!" Jeremy said.

"Hey, Jeremy calm down." Elena said.

"No, no! I'm not gonna calm down, Elena! This happens every time, no matter what we do! Getting on my case about school and work- who cares? None of us are gonna make it out of this town alive." He walked out of the room.

"Jeremy…" Cora watched after him, concerned.

"He said he wants his family back?" Elena asked.

"No! No! I know you are thinking- the answer is no!"

"If we give him Rebekah..."

"Yeah, then Klaus un-daggers her, first thing she does is kill you! Frying pan, fire- not an option!" Damon pointed out.

"But we have to do something, Damon." Cora said. "We can't risk Jeremy or possibly the others."

"I know, Cora, but do you really want to risk it? You befriended her, too, she might think you had something to do with it."

"I can hold my own against another vampire, even if she is an Original." She headed upstairs to find Jeremy.

"Hey."

"Did they send you up here?"

"No, they didn't." Cora said. "I was worried about you."

"How am I supposed to care about life when there's a chance there could be one less of our group tomorrow?"

"Jeremy, I know exactly how you feel." Cora said, sitting next to him. "I've befriended and lost many people I was close with over the years, but there's a lot of good things out there, too. We might never be free of the dark things in our lives, but we have to learn to deal with the positive changes, not just the bad ones."

"How do you do it?"

"Honestly, over the past century, I'm still figuring it out on a day to day basis." Cora said. "I guess I never lost hope in the good in people." She got up. "You should talk to Tyler. I'm going to find Stefan." She headed downstairs.

"Everything okay?" Damon asked her.

"He's a tough one, I just hope he'll be okay." Cora said. "They've both been through a lot."

"All the more reason to kick little brother's ass when we find him."

"That might not be as hard as you think. I think I know where Stefan is." Cora said.


	9. Confrontation Between Siblings

Cora and Damon were waiting outside the witch house. They were listening in on Elena and Stefan talking. "How did you know he'd be here?" Damon asked.

"Just a feeling I had. I knew some of the witches when they were alive, and I had a feeling there was someone else besides us that hated Klaus." Cora explained. "So I figured he might have turned to them for help."

They saw Elena come outside. She didn't look happy. "That didn't go over well." Damon said.

"Don't even start, Damon!" Elena said. Cora was surprised, but understood how she must be feeling.

"Let me talk to him." Damon said.

"You can't get in! The witches won't let you!" Elena pointed out.

"Well, they can't stop me." Cora said.

"Are you sure you want to risk it?" Damon asked.

"Unlike some people, I haven't made enemies with witches." Cora pointed out.

"If you're not out in five minutes, I'm coming in." Damon said. He turned to Elena. "Get back home." He handed her his car keys. "You deal with your brother, we'll deal with ours."

Cora entered the house. She was surprised by how empty it was, though she could feel the presence of the witches all around her. "Thank you for trying to help us." She said to them. She was greeted with a soft breeze. "Leslie, if you're here, can you please lead me to my friend? He's hiding here somewhere."

She followed a feeling she had and ended up downstairs. She found Stefan sitting down there. "Stefan."

"Do I know you?" He asked.

"It's me, Cora. I was turned a couple years after moving to Mystic Falls." He stared at her, as though he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. "I can prove it's me." She lifted her necklace up and showed it to him. "You gave my sister this necklace to protect her while we were in London. She gave it to me after you found me at that dock party."

"Anyone could have made an imitation of this." He pointed out, handing the necklace back to her. Cora ran her hand through her hair. Then she thought of another way to prove herself to him.

"Could anyone have imitated this?" Cora reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out an old-fashioned pocket watch. The gold color had faded from the years, but the face of the watch was undamaged. The battery had died long ago, but it was still in good condition.

She took it everywhere she went. Stefan glanced at the watch, recognizing it. "Cora…it really is you." She smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping your brother and friends deal with a murderous Original hybrid." Cora told him. "And now Elena and the others are in trouble."

"Look, I can't help them." Stefan said.

"Then maybe you can explain why you saved Klaus' ass at that party." Cora was surprised to see Damon standing next to her. He turned to her. "I told you I was coming in if you weren't out in a few minutes."

"Maybe we should take this outside." Cora said.

"No problem." To her surprise, Damon grabbed Stefan and sped out of the house. Cora closed her eyes.

"Not this again." She had seen a lot of their feuding back when she was human. She ran outside. She found Stefan on the ground. Damon had stabbed him with an olive branch. Cora rolled her eyes at the irony, then sped over and threw herself between them.

"Enough! If you're going to fight, then what's the point of us even being here?" Cora pointed out.

"It still doesn't make sense. Why would he stop us from killing Klaus then steal his family?" Damon asked.

"Klaus took everything from me." They turned to Stefan. He was still on the ground. Cora could see there was a lot of anger in him, and a lot of pain. She really hated Klaus for what he did to Stefan, and his actions toward her friends was getting out of hand.

"Okay, but why did you mess up the plan?" Cora asked. "If we'd succeeded, he'd be gone."

"I did it to save Damon." Stefan said, sitting up. He looked at his brother. "If you had killed him, his hybrids would've killed you."

Damon was still looking at him, surprised by this new information. "See? I knew there was a reason he saved him." Cora said.

"So, what exactly is your plan? Hold the rest of his family hostage?" Damon asked.

"Look, the witches hate Klaus, too. They're helping us hide the coffins." Stefan explained.

"Us?" Cora asked. "Wait, don't tell me you dragged Bonnie into this madness, too."

"I didn't have a choice."

"There's no way you can take on Klaus by yourself, brother." Damon pointed out. "He'll kill you for sure."

"And I didn't come here to lose either of you all over again." Cora added.

"What are you two saying?" Damon and Cora looked at each other and knew they were thinking the same thing.

"We want to help you." Cora said. "No matter what, we have to take Klaus down." Damon nodded.

"Fine. But keep Elena out of this." Stefan told them.

"That won't be a problem." Damon said.

"Speaking of which, we should check in with her." Cora pointed out. "She's been unraveling since Klaus guys' hit Ric."

"You go on ahead." Damon told her. "We still have some things to talk out."

When Cora got to Elena's street, she saw an ambulance down the block. She knew it couldn't be a good sign. She sped over to Elena's house. The door was open and there were two paramedics on the floor by Alaric. "What happened?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, the ring didn't heal him." Elena said as she entered the house. The paramedics were getting ready to move him.

"Let's not. Say we did. Why don't you two meet us at the hospital?" They turned and saw the hybrid who ran him over in the doorway.

"What?" The paramedics left. "No, no, no wait. No wait! You have to help him!" Elena said.

"They've been compelled, Elena! They can't help him!" Cora told her.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked him.

"You can still save his life, Elena. Here- take my blood." He stood outside. The girls stared at him. "I can't get in. You're gonna have to invite me in."

"No. Why are you doing this?" Elena asked.

"Klaus asked for his family. You didn't deliver." He said.

"We don't know where his family his, we already told him this!" Cora pointed out. Ric started coughing. Elena ran over to his side. Cora realized she could help him, but at the same time, she didn't want to reveal herself to the jerk watching from the doorway. Suddenly, he fell to the ground.

"Jeremy!" Elena was relieved to see him.

"He´s not dead yet." Jeremy said. He went in and passed the girls. Cora bit her wrist and held it up to Alaric's mouth. She had to admit, it was always weird doing this. She heard Elena scream and looked up to see what was wrong.

"What happened?" Cora asked. Elena was standing by the door. She looked pretty shaken up. Then she walked to the doorway and almost felt sick. Elena put an arm around her and forced herself and Cora away from the scene in front of them.

"How is he?" She said.

"He should heal soon, but we should get him to the hospital just in case." Cora told her.

"We'll take my car." Jeremy said, entering and helping her lift him up. Cora turned to Elena.

"Are you coming?"

"I can't." Elena said. "I know he's going to try again unless we give Rebekah back."

Cora looked at her, understanding her situation. She knew from experience that in dealing with the supernatural, you have to do whatever it takes to protect your family. "Do what you have to do." She told her. "We'll make sure he's okay."

"Thanks, Cora." She and Jeremy left the house, carrying Alaric with them.

On the ride there, Jeremy noticed she looked worried. "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's just…this whole situation sucks." Cora said. "My siblings are fighting each other when we've got a bigger threat to handle. How'd you know Klaus' hybrid would be there?"

"Tyler warned me." Jeremy said. "You guys were right about the vervain thing, but he doesn't seem to want to be part of the Klaus thing anymore."

"Well, that's good news." Cora sighed. "I just wish our lives weren't so effected by him being here."

"I've learned to accept it long ago." Jeremy told her. "It's like normal is impossible in this town."

"Well, to be fair, I think normal is overrated. But still…it's when good people like Alaric get involved that concerns me."

"I know what you mean. You wish there was some way you could protect the people important to you." Cora looked at him. He was only sixteen, but so many supernatural things had effected his life. They parked in the hospital's parking lot.

"We should go." Jeremy said.

"Hey…if it helps, I'd kick my brother's ass for pissing Klaus off." Cora told him.

"Easy, Cora. You're starting to sound like Damon." He pointed out.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

They brought him into the emergency room immediately. After waiting for about an hour, Cora saw Damon enter the waiting room. "Finally! What took you so long?"

"It's a long story. How is he?"

"He should be okay. I gave him my blood at the house, but he was still in bad shape when we brought him in." She told him.

"Good thing you were there to help him."

"Well, it was either help him or stay behind and break up another one of your arguments. I think I made the right choice."

A few hours later, Cora and the others arrived home. Alaric was finally all healed. 'So, what happened tonight wasn't normal?" Cora asked.

"Yeah, normally the rings heal any damage we take when something supernatural kills us." Jeremy said. "I wonder if there's a warranty on these things."

"Well, maybe we should be more careful with them." Cora said. "I don't want to have to go through what happened tonight again."

"Neither do I." Jeremy said. "Then again, when you're surrounded in a town with vampires, these things just happen." Cora looked at him. He was still in danger from Klaus and she wasn't sure how they could keep him safe.

"I'm going to check on the others." She told him. She headed downstairs. When she was near the kitchen, she heard Elena and Damon talking. "I made a deal with Klaus. I gave him Rebekah."

"What? No. No, no, no you did not do that! She's gonna come here and try to kill you!"

"No she won't. Klaus won't let her because he needs me."

"And suddenly you trust him?" Damon asked.

"No, I don't trust him. But what other choice do I have?" Elena pointed out. "I don't trust Stefan. Do you think he's just gonna give up the coffins?"

"My brother is- sort of running his own show right now."

"My brother just chopped off someone's head!" Elena countered. "It's not right. It's not fair. He's 16 years old. He shouldn't have to live like this." Cora entered the room. Elena was facing the sink, so she didn't see her come in. "There has to be another way. We have to fix it."

"We will! Hey, Elena." Damon got her to look at him "Hey. We will! Okay?" She nodded, calming down.

"Whatever we do, we're going to have to do it fast." Cora said. "To me, it sounds like Jeremy's given up on normal life."

"Then maybe we should give him a normal one." Elena said. They both turned to her. "I know what I have to do." Cora understood, as though she could hear the human girl's thoughts.

"Elena, are you sure?"

"If we're going to protect him, it's the only way." She said.

A few minutes later, they all headed up to Jeremy's room. Cora waited in the hallway. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier. About how we should pack up and go." Elena told him.

"Elena, I didn't mean any of that." Jeremy said.

"But you were right. You shouldn't have to give up a normal life just because of me."

"What's going on?"

"Your sister thinks we should have another one of our talks." She heard Damon say. She went to the doorway. "Here's the thing, Jer: You go out of town for a while- a long while. You're gonna stay with some nice family friends in Denver, you're gonna be at a new school, you meet new girls, living girls."

Cora put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. She noticed Alaric had showed up next to her.

"Tell him he's gonna leave Mystic Falls behind and never think twice about it." Alaric said. Damon turned to Elena. She nodded.

"You're gonna leave Mystic Falls behind and never think twice about it. You'll have a better life, Jeremy."

Once it was done, Cora followed Elena into the hallway. "You okay?"

"Yeah. It's hard, but if Klaus had his way, he wouldn't stop until Jeremy was gone." Elena told her. "I've already lost my aunt to him."

Cora already knew this because Damon filled her in on everything that happened before her arrival. He'd also told her about the accident that took her parents. "You'll get through this."

"I hope you're right." Elena said. She left to go outside. Cora followed and Damon came with her. "I feel like a horrible person."

"You just saved his life, Elena." Damon pointed out. "Take it from me: strange is bad, dead is worse."

"I just can't stop thinking about what happened last time when I asked you to compel him."

"He found out. And he got over it. Again: not dead, Elena!" Cora raised an eyebrow. "It's a long story." Damon told her. He turned back to Elena. "He's so lucky to have you for his sister."

"Thank you." Elena said.

"No problem."

"Not just for this, Damon. For everything. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here." She told him.

He looked at Cora. She took his hand and nodded. "You should know this, Elena. Stefan didn't screw us over." He said. "He screwed us over but he had a good reason."

"What?"

"He saved Klaus to save me. Then he stole the coffins to get even." Damon told her.

"What? Damon, if he did it to protect you then... Why would he even do that?" Elena asked.

"I guess he just knew he had to save his brother." Cora shrugged. "After a hundred years, that protective instinct doesn't just go away."

"Yeah, though I feel like an idiot." Damon admitted. "Why don't you wait in the car?"

"Actually, I'm staying," Cora told him. She turned to Elena. "If that's okay with you."

"Hey, you're welcome anytime." She said.

"I'll meet you tomorrow before school." Cora told Damon.

"Okay. Have a good night, Cora."

"Be safe, Damon." She hugged him briefly, then went back inside. She knew this was going to be hard on all of them, but they had to do something.


	10. Birthday Blues

The next morning, Cora was headed to the witch house with the guys. "You didn't say anything to Elena about the coffins, right?" Stefan asked them.

"No, I said I wouldn't."

"I didn't, either. She thinks I'm at glee club." Cora said. Damon gave her a look. "It was all I could come up with at the moment. I'm meeting her there later."

"Just be careful. The fewer people that know about this, the better." Just then, Cora heard something and motioned for them to be quiet. Damon nodded. He had heard it, too. They carefully approached the witch house.

Bonnie was coming out. Damon went toward the doorway, while Cora hid nearby. Suddenly, a hybrid rushed out of the house. Damon killed him before he could do anything.

"These hybrids are bringing the neighborhood down."

"That was a little too close for comfort." Cora said. "We're going to have to be more careful about these meetings, especially since Klaus has them everywhere in town."

"You two should go. We'll take care of this." Stefan told the girls.

"Okay."

They'd made it to school late that morning. "Wait, glee club? Seriously?"

"I was kind of in a hurry." Cora pointed out. "I didn't want her to get suspicious. And once I was in the chorus of The Sound of Music."

They found Elena decorating Caroline's locker. That's when Cora remembered it was Caroline's birthday. "Hey, sorry I'm late, I… I got held up."

"It's okay. I just got here too." Elena told her. "Could you pass me the balloons? Thanks. Why are you running late?"

"I was working on some new spells." Bonnie told her. "You?"

"Working with Alaric." Elena turned to Cora. "How was practice?"

"A disaster. I don't even know why I got involved with them." Cora lied.

"So, I have something I need to tell you, and you're not gonna like it." Elena said, turning to Bonnie.

"What happened?"

"Jeremy is gonna be leaving town for a while. He will stay with old family friends in Denver, until this thing with Klaus blows over."

"Jeremy wouldn't just leave you deal with Klaus on your own." Bonnie pointed out.

"I know, I asked Damon to compel him."

"You what?" Bonnie asked.

"I know, Bonnie. But it's not safe here for him anymore." Elena said.

"Klaus tried to kill him yesterday." Cora explained. "If we don't get him out of here, he'll try to do it again." Bonnie was still in shock, but she could see that she understood.

"Leaving will give him a better life. The only reason I'm telling you is because I know that you two haven't really walked out on your stuff. " Elena said. "And I thought maybe you'd wanna say goodbye."

"Thanks for telling me." Bonnie said. She walked away. Cora caught up to her, though.

"Hey. I know this is hard." Cora told her. "But at least if he leave, he'll still be alive."

"How would you know how I feel, Cora? You've only been here for a month." Bonnie pointed out.

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss him, either." Cora said, feeling slightly angry at her. "He's one of the closest friends I have in this town. And with all that's happened, he deserves to have a normal life. And to be honest, I don't blame him. I hate everything about this mess. I'd give up my powers if I could make everything normal again." She walked off. She hadn't felt this angry in years.

She found herself in a part of campus she didn't recognize. It was outside, but she'd been so busy lately, she hadn't been paying attention to the school maps. She sat down on a bench. "You okay?" She looked up and saw Matt.

"Not really." He sat down next to her. "I kind of blew up at Bonnie over everything that's happened. I know it's not her fault, but still…"

"This whole Klaus thing has everyone stressed out." Matt said. "Even I'm worried about them."

"He threatened Jeremy." Cora told him. "We decided to get him out of town for a while. Do you think we're making a mistake?"

"No, I don't." Matt said. "The farther he is away from this, the better. I don't want anything happening to him, either. Elena made the right call."

Cora smiled. At least someone else understood how important this was. "Anyway," Matt continued. "Are you coming to Care's surprise party?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Cora told him.

That afternoon, she was hiding with Matt, Elena, and Bonnie. She was still a little angry with the witch, but she wasn't going to let it ruin her time with the others. She peeked out the window and saw Caroline heading up the steps.

"She's coming."

"Okay, places, guys." Matt said. They remained in hiding until Caroline entered the room.

"Happy birthday!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Caroline asked.

"Well you blew of school and missed our work of birthday art, so..." Elena explained.

"Change your clothes, we are going to the falls." Bonnie said. "S'mores, camp fire."

"Cake, like when we were little."

"Except for the tequila!"

"Thanks, guys. Really, but, I just no feeling my birthday this year." Caroline told them.

"I'm sorry, what? You already claimed your birthday as everyone's favorite day of the year." Bonnie pointed out. Cora raised an eyebrow.

"We were eight when she said it." Elena explained to her.

"And now, it's just reminded that technically, I'm dead." Caroline said. "Look, I'm not even seventeen. And the only point to seventeen is to get to eighteen." She sighed. "It's a failure year, I'm stuck in a failure year."

"You're not stuck Caroline." Elena said.

"Yeah, I am, but it's okay. It's all good, I will be fine. But I just need some time to get used to it."

"I know what you're going through. The first few years of being a vampire is tough." Cora told her. "It gets easier."

"Do you even remember your birthday?" Caroline asked.

"Of course. It's March fifteenth." Cora told her.

"I think I have another idea." Elena said.

A few hours later, the group entered a tomb. Cora shivered. She hated cemeteries and anything else that reminded her of death. It always creeped her out.

"Here it is."

"This is creepy, even for us." Bonnie said.

"For once, I agree with you." Cora said.

"Caroline was right. Technically, she is dead." Elena pointed out. She turned to Care. "Sorry. But you don't need a birthday, you need a funeral. You need to say goodbye to your old life so then you can move on with your new one." Cora smiled. Elena was really good at coming up with creative solutions to small problems.

"Okay, here lies Caroline Forbes." Caroline said.

"Cheerleader, Miss Mystic Falls, third grade hopscotch champion." Elena said.

"Friend, daughter, perfectionist." Bonnie chimed in.

"Mean girl, sometimes, no offense." Matt added.

"Ah, none taken." Everyone laughed.

"She was 17, and she had a really good life. So rest in peace, so that she can move forward." Elena said. "That's what you really need. What we all really need." Cora nodded.

"Amen, or cheers or whatever. Bonnie?" Bonnie lit the candles with her powers.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Cora said.

"You will, eventually." Caroline told her.

"Okay, make a wish." Elena told Caroline.

A few hours later, Cora felt like she was the only sober one left there. Granted, she was never big on drinking, anyway. "Caroline, what are you doing?" Elena asked.

"What? Nothing."

"Okay, you're a bad sober liar, and even worse drunk liar." She pointed out.

"I might have texted Tyler." Caroline admitted.

"Caroline..."

"What? I'm frail." Caroline said defensively.

"Look, I want to believe Tyler's a good guy here." Cora told her. "But maybe you should be careful around him."

"Give her a break, you two. You can't control what everyone does all the time." Bonnie said.

"Wow." Elena said.

"Sorry, I know it's Caroline birthday, funeral or whatever but, I just feel it's really wrong to compel Jeremy to leave town." Bonnie told them.

"I'm doing it to protect him, Bonnie." Elena pointed out. "I want to give him a chance to have a quiet normal life."

"He should be able to choose how he wants to live it, you're taking his choices away."

"Bonnie, you can't tell him."

"Why? Are you gonna compel me not to?"

"Don't tempt me." Cora said.

"You know, you guys are ruining a perfect funeral." Matt said. Everyone looked at him.

"I'm sorry. I'll just go sleep it off or something. Happy birthday." She left. Cora sighed. She had hoped Bonnie wasn't one of the judgmental types. She still liked her and all, but it was hard dealing with witches sometimes.

A few minutes later, Tyler showed up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to smash the party."

"So don't." Matt told him.

"No, it's, it's okay." Caroline said.

"Can I talk to you for a sec? It's kind of important." Tyler told her. Caroline got up. She glanced back at Cora, who smiled encouragingly. Then they left the tomb.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Matt.

"Yeah, I want her to be happy you know. It's what I want for all of you guys, in the middle of this crazy life we gotta stuck in." Matt told them.

"Is that how you see it? That we are stuck? Bonnie is right, you know I had no business messing with Jeremy's head." Elena said. "I just don't know what else to do. He is in danger here. I can't lose anyone else that I love."

"I think you made the right call." Cora told her. "Keeping him alive is better than risking Klaus going after him. If it were Vi, I'd have done the same thing."

"Thanks."

After an hour passed, the group started searching the woods for Caroline. "Great, we've been abandoned." Elena said.

"Calm down, she's gotta be out here somewhere." Cora said.

"I don't trust them, she could get back together with him."

"So what? She's still in love with him." Cora pointed out. "Besides, it's not easy to get over someone you're really into." Matt and Elena shared an uncomfortable glance. "Oh, right. I forgot about the whole ex-thing with you two."

"Caroline!"

"Come on, Caroline!" Elena called. "We don't have anymore drinks! Matt is afraid about the Fell Ghost." Suddenly, Matt fell to the ground. Cora leaned next to him, and that was when she heard something. She turned toward the direction of the forest.

"Matt, get up, come on!" She said.

"What happened?" Cora looked around.

"I don't know, but Elena's gone. And I think I just heard Caroline." She helped Matt up.

"You know where she is?"

"It came from that way." Cora slowly approached the woods. She found Caroline on the ground, in pain. "Over here!" Matt ran over to her.

"What could've done this to her?"

"I don't know." Cora said. "Wait." She closely checked Caroline for injuries. That's when she saw an infected mark on her. "This mark…" Matt leaned down to check.

"She's been bitten." Matt said.

"But that means…"

"I know, but I don't know what else to do." Matt told her. "We've got to get her home, quick." Cora nodded.

They both got the Caroline's house in no time. "Sheriff Forbes!"

"What happened?" She asked them.

"Tyler bit her." Matt said.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to."

"This is not the time, Cora!" He snapped.

"Right, we've got to help her."

"Be careful." Liz told them. "Caroline, honey, can you hear me?"

"I'm sorry, mom."

"She's hallucinating or something, I don't know. No one's picking up the phone." Matt said.

"Okay, we're going to need blood bags, a wet towel, and we've got to keep her calm." Cora told them. Liz nodded, then turned to her daughter.

"It's alright sweet heart."

"Is there any way to save her?" Matt asked Cora once Liz had left the room.

"There's only one thing that can cure a wolf bite. Klaus' blood." Cora said. "And as much as I hate the guy, I don't think we have a choice."

A few hours later, she headed back home. She got to the front door at the same time as Damon. "What a night."

"You're telling me. What happened at that party, anyway?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Cora told him. "What about you? What happened at the charity event?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"This isn't going to get any easier, is it?" Cora sighed.

"Nope."

"Well, at least we're not alone in this one."

The next morning, Cora stopped by the Gilbert's house. "Hey."

"Hey." Elena said. Cora turned to Jeremy.

"Well, guess this is it for now."

"Please tell me you didn't prepare an entire speech." Jeremy said.

"Of course not. I'm not that old-fashioned." They all laughed a little. "Even though I haven't known you long, Jer, I feel like you're part of my family."

"I know what you mean." Jeremy looked at her. "Listen, while I'm gone, try to keep my sister out of trouble. Don't want anything to happen before I get back."

"No problem." Cora said.

"Good, you haven't left yet." Cora turned in surprise. Bonnie had shown up.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremy asked.

"I came to say goodbye." She told him.

A few minutes later, they watched as he left. Cora took Elena's hand. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so."

"Come on, let's get inside."

"Hang on, I'd like to talk to you." Bonnie told Cora.

"Go on, I'll just be in here."

"So, what is it this time?" Cora asked.

"I wanted to apologize about yesterday." Bonnie told her. "I was just really angry and hurt about him leaving. I know you were right, but it's still just hard, you know?"

"Hey, I know how hard it is to leave a sibling behind." Cora said. "I lost track of the Salvatores a long time ago, and my sister, my real sister, has been dead a long time. I let go of her the minute she became a true monster." She had tried to kill her back when she was still human.

"Do you ever miss her? The real her, I mean." Bonnie said.

"Sometimes." Cora told her. "But when you live in a world full of supernatural beings, it doesn't make a difference. After all, you don't need to be related by blood to be family." The two of them stood out there for a moment. "You want to come in?"

"Actually, I just stopped by to see Jeremy off." Bonnie said. "I'll see you later."

"Okay." Cora headed inside.


End file.
